Shadowhunter Academy
by AngelOnHeavenlyFire
Summary: Clary, her brother Jon, and her parabatai Simon are uprooted from their home in New York to attend the newly reopened Academy in Alicante. They don't quite fit in having been raised outside Idris and being related to the infamous Valentine Morgenstern. Jace, Alec, and Isabelle are three of the most privileged kids in Alicante. What happens when the two groups meet?
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

 **Clary's POV**

He came at me faster and faster, blades swinging. I met him blow for blow, but he moved so fast I couldn't get a blow of my own in. He guarded himself so well, too. The Morgenstern sword swung down towards my left bicep, leaving his torso open. _Finally._ Faster than my beloved brother realized what was happening, I brought the hilt of my sword, the smaller companion to his, up into his diaphragm hard enough to send him flying back onto the mat.

Within seconds Jonathan had jumped up and sheathed his sword on his back. He clapped his hands together once. "Well done, little sister!"

I sheathed my own sword, placed my hands on my hips, and gave him my best smirk. "I've always been better than you, ya know. You just had a head start in your training."

"Puh-lease. Just because you beat me once doesn't mean a damn thing."

"Actually, I think it means either you're losing you edge or Clary really is more talented than you." My best friend, my parabatai, Simon strode in, his weapons belt low on his hips.

I smiled at him. We'd been friends ever since my mother thought it was a good idea that Jonathan and I get some distance from the Shadowhunter life and attend a "normal" human school. It sucked. We never fit in. I mean, why would we? We were half angel children attending a human school, learning stuff that didn't matter to us. I couldn't blame my mother, though, not after everything the Shadowhunter world did to her and our family. Besides, going to the school led me to meet Simon. Unfortunately, when we were around 13, after I had left school, his parents were killed in a "car accident." It was really a demon attack. When my mother found out about Simon being left without parents, she fought for him to join our family. He was a little older than the preferred age to drink from the Mortal Cup, but thanks to Valentine, my biological father, and his uprising, Shadowhunter numbers have been low for the past 16 years. Needless to say Simon was a good candidate otherwise so the Council didn't take much convincing.

My brother shot daggers at Simon. "I have NOT lost my edge."

Simon held his hands out in front of him. "Okay, okay. If it makes you feel better, you're still one of the best Shadowhunters out there."

"Don't feed his ego, Si." I rolled my eyes.

"He's right, though, little sister, and you know it." Jonathan flashed one of his award-winning smiles.

I stuck my tongue out at him. "Butt-munch," I muttered under my breath. Both boys laughed.

"Anyways… I came in here to tell you Kadir is downstairs and your mom wants to talk to all of us. Seemed serious." Simon shrugged.

"You think it's another assignment?" Jonathan asked.

"If it is, they really need to bring more Shadowhunters to New York. We've been sent out on at least 20 assignments the last week, more than most Shadowhunters around the world. The New York Conclave is too small to deal with all these issues." I frowned. "Besides, I don't think it's an assignment. Kadir normally just sends a note. Why wouldn't he just do that instead of showing up here at the Institute?"

"Well, I guess there's only one way to find out." Jonathan started to change out of his training clothes.

The scars on his back jumped out at me, making me flinch like they normally do. The scars were from the cleansing the Iron Sisters and Silent Brothers performed on him as an infant to rid his blood of the demon that Valentine corrupted him with. I silently thanked the Angel for taking Valentine's life during the Uprising. I don't know what I would do without my brother.

Two minutes later, Simon, Jon, and I were standing in the kitchen facing Kadir, Luke, my stepfather, and my mother who held my little sister on her hip. Currently, little Evangeline was 4, and we still didn't know if she inherited the werewolf gene from Luke like my 10 year old brother, James. Where he was right now, I didn't know.

"What's up?" I asked nonchalantly, although the concern etched on my mother's voice bothered me deeply.

Kadir cleared his throat. "Well, I have some news. Some non-negotiable news."

"You're freaking me out a little bit. Just spit it out." Simon shifted with anxiety.

"The Council has decided to reopen the Academy in Alicante in order to more quickly and effectively train the younger generation. Everyone under the age of 18 is required to pack up and move to the Academy's dorms by tomorrow. Classes start Monday, two days from now."

"WHAT?!" We all collectively shouted.

"Our training has been fine until now! Better than fine! No. We're not leaving New York. Especially not me and Clary."

"Gee, thanks, Jon." Simon muttered, although his voice held none of the humor it should have.

"I understand-" Kadir started.

"Do you? Do you understand? Whenever we go to Alicante everyone stares and the other kids our age stay away! We're not going to be forced into a situation where we're living with that! All they see is Valentine's kids and the kids raised by a werewolf. They're all wondering if we're going to follow in Valentine's footsteps! And if that's not enough, Clary's the angel child and I'll always be the demon child to them."

"Jon…" I said quietly. "Don't go there. You are NOT that child."

"Well to them, I might as well be!" He stormed off in the direction of his room.

"I don't like this Kadir, but I'll go. And Jon will, too. He won't want to, but he's loyal to the Clave. Don't worry." I said in response the worry on his face. "C'mon, Si. Let's go pack."

"Wait. We'll be living there right? Will we have roommates? How does this work?"

Kadir ran a hand through his hair. "Yes, you'll have a roommate. They're putting parabatais together for the most part, but you two won't be bunking together. They still have boys and girls floors. Clary I know for a fact that your roommate will be Helen Blackthorn. They put her with you to help accommodate everyone. She's from the LA Institute, so you'll both be outsiders at first. Simon, you'll be with Jonathon. They don't like to put people with differences in age, but since he's only a year older, they're making an exception to make it easier on you."

"Will James be going?"

"No, it's only 12 and older. Besides I don't know if they'll take him. It all depends on if he can handle being Marked which we won't know for a while yet since the first Mark is placed at 12."

"Oh, okay." I was kind of sad to have to leave my little brother behind.

Simon looked at me and shrugged. Well, this was going to be an adventure.

 **Jace's POV**

"I can't believe they're opening up the Academy again." Alec said as he placed another ratty sweater into his bag.

"I just don't understand why we have to live there. I mean our dad is the Inquisitor. We live just around the corner from the Academy anyway." Isabelle took another swig of wine.

"Careful, Iz. Don't become a drunk." She glared at me.

"I'm sixteen. It's legal."

I rolled my eyes at my friend. She was practically a sister to me, especially since her brother, Alec was my parabatai. "At least share."

That made her grin and she shoved the bottle in my direction. "So you two are rooming together at least, right?"

"Of course. We're parabatai." Alec answered quietly.

"Hey, what's up?" I flicked his shoulder.

"Nothing. I guess I'm just nervous. You know, it's one thing to be the gay Shadowhunter everyone knows about. It's another to actually face all these people on a daily basis."

"Hey, don't worry. They'd be dumb to try anything."

Izzy snorted. "Yeah, I'd stab them one of my heels."

"Thanks, Iz." Alec looked affectionately at his sister. A ping of jealously went through me.

Even though they were basically family, I still wished my parents were still alive and that they'd had more children. I had my grandmother, Imogen Herondale, but that was all. At least Maryse and Robert were like surrogate parents when I spent my time here which was practically every day, except when we were demon hunting.

"Well, I'll be rooming with Aline. Although, I don't know if that's a good thing. She told me she has a girlfriend now."

"Since when?" Alec glanced up.

"I guess when her family went to all the Institutes last year she met that girl, Helen Blackthorn, and they hit it off." She shrugged. "Whatever. I just don't want to hear them fuck."

"Gross, Iz." Alec scowled while I chuckled.

"It would be hot, though. Think there will be any new hot girls coming in from other Institutes?" I smirked.

Isabelle choked on her wine and chucked a pillow at me. "Now that is gross. You've slept with every girl of suitable age in Alicante with the exception of myself, and now you want to infect every teen Shadowhunter female with whatever disease you've surely got?"

"I always use protection. I'm as clean as a whistle. And I'm sexy." I winked at her. She scowled right back.

"Jace, as much as we love having you, your grandmother wants you home for dinner on your last night." Maryse popped her head in.

"Well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow at…school."

"Bye."

"Later!" Izzy was starting to slur.

On my way out Maryse kissed my cheek and wished me luck. "I'll see you tomorrow, Jace."

"Yeah, Maryse, thanks."


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks for the follows, favorites, and reviews, guys! Hope you have as much fun reading this chapter as I had writing it!**

Chapter 2

 **Clary's POV**

"Aren't you going to help us unpack?" Jon poked my stomach while I was sprawled out on his bed.

"Nope. I'm supervising. Don't forget you get to help me move in next." I smiled at him.

He poked me again. "Brat."

"You love me and you know it."

Simon came in with a bag of food at this moment. "Where'd you get that?" Jon demanded.

"There's a little food store downstairs next to the dining hall. Guess they do care if we starve when the dining hall is closed. I figured we'd need sustenance during the late nights."

"Good thinking, bro." Jon slapped Simon's back. "You done unpacking?"

"Yeah, for the most part. The rest of it can wait until later, though."

"Cool. Let's go help my little sister get all moved in."

"Damn, you got a bigger room than us." Jon was currently standing in the middle of my room circling slowly. He whistled.

"That's because girls need more space for their stuff." Helen, my new roommate was not afraid of being sassy to my brother at all. She also didn't seem to care we were Morgensterns. Plus, she didn't look twice at my brother with his amazing good looks. It really pissed my brother off. Bonus. I liked her immediately, and I knew she would make a good roommate and maybe even, friend.

"I'll say," Simon huffed as he brought in another one of my boxes. "What's in this thing anyways?"

"Uhh, I think that one's my painting stuff and some books."

Simon glared at me. "Next time warn me, okay? I may be a Shadowhunter, but that is just ridiculous!" He walked back out to get another box. My brother followed him out.

"You paint?" Aline had stopped putting up picture of her and some girl kissing. _Ahhh,_ now I understand why she didn't give into my brother's charms.

"Yeah, my mom does, too. She's waaaay better than me though."

Aline laughed. "Can I see one of your paintings?"

"Uhh, sure, I guess." I shrugged. I'm not used to anyone but my family and Simon seeing my paintings. I pulled out one I did of the New York skyline.

Aline took it from me and looked at it, her mouth gaping. "Clary, this is AMAZING! Do you sell any of these? Or make ones on request? My girlfriend would love this!" She hugged the painting to herself.

I blushed ferociously. "Um, you can have it if you really want it. I have tons of that shot. It's one of my favorites to paint."

"Really? Thanks! You should give yourself more credit. You have talent!"

"Who has talent?" An unfamiliar female voice came from the doorway.

"ALINE!" Helen bounded over to her and plopped a sweet kiss on the dark-haired girl's lips. She must be Helen's girlfriend. "Look at this painting! Don't you love it?"

"Wow, that's so cool. Where'd you get it?"

"Clary." She gestured in my direction. I quickly turned away and continued to busy myself by unpacking. "Clary, this is Aline, my girlfriend. Aline, Clary." I turned back around and gave a polite wave.

"This really is awesome, Clary!"

"I didn't know Valentine Morgenstern's daughter was coming to the Academy." A raven-haired girl stepped out from behind Aline. She was unbelievably gorgeous. It wasn't fair.

"Isabelle." Aline scolded. "You know everyone under 18 was required to come."

Isabelle said nothing just sized me up. "Hrmmph"

"Anyway, Clary, Helen, this is Isabelle Lightwood, the Inquisitor's daughter." At this introduction Isabelle shot a death glance at Aline.

"You know I don't like to be associated with my father's position."

"Well, I don't think Clary likes to be judged for who her father was either."

"Okay, okay. You made your point." She waved her hand in Aline's direction and stepped towards me. Instinctively I stepped back. Isabelle looked a little shocked. "Look, Clary, I didn't mean anything by what I said. I was just surprised to see you here. I figured they would make some exception since you and your brother are pretty much fully trained anyway. I apologize."

Aline was gaping looking from me to Isabelle. "So, maybe we could be friends since these two," she jerked her head towards Aline and Helen "will be off canoodling all the time."

"Uh, yeah, sure. That would be great."

"Awesome. Let's grab breakfast tomorrow before class. 7AM. I'll meet you in the dining hall." She started to leave.

"I'm actually supposed to eat breakfast with my brother and parabatai tomorrow morning."

Shock flashed across her face. "You have a parabatai?" She waved her hand as if batting away a fly. "Doesn't matter. I'm supposed to eat with my brothers, too. We'll all sit together. You two love birds can join us if you agree to not make me lose my appetite by kissing." She addressed Aline and Helen, giving them a pointed glance.

"We'll see. " Helen said and grabbed Aline's hand while Isabelle stalked off, presumably to find her brothers.

"She actually apologized. I don't think Izzy has ever apologized for anything in her life. She must actually like you." Aline finally picked her jaw up off the floor.

I shrugged. "I barely said a word to her."

"Yeah, but she can pretty much size up a person within a few minutes of meeting them."

* * *

The next morning I was up by 6. I slid off my bed and looked over to Helen's bed where she was curled up with Aline. _Lovebirds, indeed._ I decided to let them sleep a little longer despite Helen's request to be awakened when I woke. They had been up later than I had watching a movie. As quietly as I could, I grabbed my towel and shower bag, wrapped myself in a robe, and headed to the floor-shared bathrooms for a quick shower.

I let the hot water relax my stiff muscles. _Man, I am not used to the small bed._ In the next ten minutes, I had shampooed and conditioned my hair as well as scrubbed my body with sweet smelling soap. I toweled off and pulled my robe around myself again. Wrapping my hair in my towel on top of my head, I grabbed my bag and exited the bathroom.

And ran right into someone's hard, muscled chest.

I jumped back, surprised. "Oh! Umm-"

"Shhhh!" The guy waved his hands in a desperate gesture to get me to shut-up. I stopped talking only to notice he was exiting one of my floor mate's rooms while she slept soundly on. She was also naked. _Oh, by the Angel._ It could only be my luck to run into a man-whore my first full day here.

Quietly, he shut the door behind him. Turning back to me, he took in my robe, shower bag, and towel and silently looked me up and down. I rolled my eyes. _No, I will not be tonight's bang._ I sent him the silent message while glaring at him. He simply, smirked. The cocky asshole.

However, it was then I noticed how beautiful he really was. Golden locks that were slightly long framed his face. He had a strong jawline and full lips. His golden eyes were outlined by golden eyebrows, one of which was raised. He was still smirking. He knew I had realized his beauty.

And all I wanted to do was paint him. Draw him. Do anything to capture his beauty.

I didn't bother to look at the rest of his body, partly not to tempt myself but mostly because I wouldn't give him that satisfaction. He was gorgeous and he knew it. No point in feeding his ego. I knew this from watching the many girls flirt with my brother.

"You can speak now. I just didn't want you to wake her." He jerked his head back to the door behind him.

"Well, I was going to say sorry for running into you, but I'm not sure you deserve the courtesy, seeing how it's obvious you're just going to leave and never talk to that girl again."

He whistled. "It seems we have an ethical, and presumable virgin, girl here, don't we."

I gaped at him. How dare he! I didn't know what to say. He was right, of course. I had never had sex in my life. So, I settled with, "I don't see what that has to do with anything."

He shrugged. "Well, what are you going to do, baby? Tell on me?"

I scowled. "No, I'm going to continue with my morning and pretend that I never had the displeasure meeting you." I stalked off to my room, leaving him standing there with something akin to shock on his face.

* * *

It was 6:55 when my brother and Simon knocked on our door. Helen and I were dressed and ready, so we just walked out and locked the door behind us. Aline had left to get ready in her own room.

Simon greeted us, "Morning. Helen, you're joining us for breakfast." He smiled. This was why Simon was my best friend. He was always so polite, unlike some boys…

"Uh, actually, we're eating breakfast as a group." I informed them.

"Oh?" Jon raised his eyebrows. "And who is in this group, may I ask?"

Oh, no. I knew he wouldn't be super thrilled with this arrangement if only because he hated when people stared at us for whose children we were. He, being older, had had more run-ins with people who clearly showed their dislike for our father through teasing. He never really let it ever happen to me.

"Um, well this girl, Isabelle, invited me, us, to breakfast with her and her brothers. Helen and Aline, Helen's girlfriend, will also be joining us." I looked down. Sometimes, his gaze was very intimidating.

"Lightwood?" was all he said.

Helen piped up, "Yes, and she didn't care about the Morgenstern thing." I had thanked her yesterday for not caring. She was perceptive to know that was what my brother was having a problem with.

"Didn't use to be that way. At least, it wasn't the last time I met her and her brother. Her brother's parabatai was also with them. I haven't met her younger brother. Though, I'm surprised he's here. He's only 10, like James." This surprised me. She _had_ said brothers, right? Not, brother? "Is Alexander's parabatai joining us, too?"

"Who's Alexander?" Man, I felt really out of the loop right now. I knew I had been sheltered by my mom and brother as much as possible, but I never thought about how many people our age I had never met, or even heard of.

"Isabelle's brother."

"Oh, uhh, I dunno, actually. Maybe."

Jon closed his eyes for a moment. "I hope not. I hope you never have to meet that jerk, Clary. And, if you do, stay away, understand? I don't care what he says to you or what he looks like. He's a player."

"Jon, you're a player." Simon looked at him pointedly.

"Shut up, Lewis. We're not talking about me." Wow, he was really pissed. He stopped calling Simon by his last name when he realized I wasn't interested in Si except when he was pissed. Uh oh. Not a good way to start off the day.

"Let's just give it a chance, please? If I can make friends with Isabelle, it will make being here easier." I gave him my best pout.

He sighed in defeat. "Fine, I'll give them the benefit of the doubt, but still stay away from the parabatai." Jon pointed at me.

"Yes, sir!" I saluted him.

It took a few moments for us to descend the stairs and walk to the dining hall. I looked around and quickly found Isabelle and Aline waving in our direction. I saw a dark-haired boy who was obviously Isabelle's brother sitting next to where she stood facing the other direction. He was talking to someone shielding by Isabelle and Aline's standing forms. All I could see was a muscled arm sticking out of a black t-shirt. Runes and scars lined the arm from his wrist all the way up, disappearing beneath his sleeve.

Once we reached the table, I introduced Simon and my brother. "Iz, Aline, this is my brother Jonathan and my parabatai slash best friend, Simon."

Simon gaped at Isabelle and her good looks while my brother simply nodded.

"Well, well, aren't you a mighty fine specimen of a man, Jonathan." Isabelle smirked while looking him up and down. _Oh no, not her, too._ To his credit, Jon looked slightly embarrassed. Huh. Isabelle stepped to her right and introduced her companions. "Guys, these are my brothers, Alec and Jace." She gestured first to the dark-haired boy sitting next to her, and then to boy sitting next to him.

He was the man-whore from earlier that morning. Fuck.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

 **Clary's POV**

Isabelle had made introductions. Alec, the dark-haired boy, had politely mumbled, "Nice to meet you." Meanwhile I just stood there, staring at the blond-god, no, man-whore. He was a man-whore. _Clary do not get sucked up into his good looks. You are not that girl._ The corner of Jace's mouth tugged up into a small smirk at my lack of reaction.

Bastard.

Fine. I'll give him something he would never expect. I stuck my hand out. "Hi. It's nice to meet you both." I smiled sweetly and noticed, satisfyingly, that the smirk was wiped off Jace's face.

He looked down at my hand but didn't take it. Instead he said, "We met this morning, if I recall correctly. Remember? We ran into each other outside the bathroom." I frowned. I could feel Jonathan's attention on me.

"You've met?" He looked angry. I shrugged.

"I remember meeting the one-night stand of one of the girls on my floor." I looked at Jace. "Was that you? Sorry, I guess you're just not very memorable." I shrugged again and sat down at the table next to Isabelle's chair.

I risked a glace up at Jace. He was staring at me incredulously with an eyebrow raised and his head cocked slightly to the left. I could tell by his eyes he was annoyed. Beyond that, there was no emotion in his face. I smirked in triumph.

It was then I realized that Isabelle, Aline, and Alec were all staring at me with their mouths open. "What?" I met each of their eyes.

"I take it no one has ever forgotten pretty boy before." Simon laughed. "Only Clary."

"Only her." Jace said quietly. "But I guarantee she won't ever forget me again."

I whipped my head towards him, my hair brushing against Isabelle. _What is that supposed to mean?_

 **Jace's POV**

 _What the hell is up with this girl?_

When I had ran into her this morning, I had thought she was entirely passive, submissive, if you will. But no. It was becoming very obvious this girl was passive-aggressive. She did not like the way I spoke to her this morning and was trying to get back at me.

Well, no one, NO ONE, "forgets" Jace Herondale.

In fact, I'll make sure she never "forgets" me again.

* * *

 **Clary's POV**

Jace and I said nothing to each other for the rest of breakfast. I ended up mainly talking to Aline and Helen while Jace kept quiet. It did not escape my attention that he was watching me through most of the meal, though.

It also did not escape Jonathan's attention.

As breakfast ended Isabelle said, "Well we better get going to our classes, guys. What do you all have first? I have to go to Demonology first. I can't believe I got stuck in the remedial course, too." She scowled.

"That would be because you never paid attention to Patrick when he would give us those lessons." Alec looked pointedly yet affectionately at his younger sister.

Aline leaned over to me and whispered, "Patrick's my father if you didn't know." _Oh._

Isabelle was glaring at Alec, "Shut up."

"Love you, too." He stood up. "Well, I have Advanced Battle Strategy first, a class Jace should be attending with me, but nooooooo. He had to test out of it."

"What can I say? I'm the best Shadowhunter alive." Jace leaned back and smirked.

"I have that class first, too. I'll walk with you." Jonathan stood up as well. "Clary, meet me for lunch around 11:30?" He gave me a look that said "We will have words." _Angel, what's got his panties in a twist? Oh, yes. Jace._

I rose, grabbing my plate and glass in order to return them. "Actually, I have class until noon."

"You have class for 4 hours?! By the Angel, what class is that?" Simon looked appalled.

"No, dummy. I have Sword Masters until 9, History of Demon Realms until 10, and then Advanced Grey Book Studies until noon." I looked over to Jonathan. "Meet me here at 12:10, okay? Now if you'll all excuse me, I forgot my sword." I briefly gave Simon's shoulder a squeeze and went to put my dishes away.

After dumping my plate, I thanked the Shadowhunter at the door, and ran up to my room. _Now where did I put that sword?_ I rummaged around in the boxes under my bed but had no luck. I sighed. Shit. How could I lose it? It was a Morgenstern sword, the companion to my brother's. They both belonged to our parents before us. _Well, crap._

"I assume you didn't find it," a silky smooth voice drifted from the doorway. _Oh no. Not him._

"Oh? And how do you know that, Jace?"

"Well, considering I'm currently holding it, I would say you've been unsuccessful in your endeavors. _Of course._

"Where was it?"

"Shortly after you left, your brother remembered your sword had been packed away with his and was currently in his room. I offered to go with him to get it and then bring it to you. It only made sense since we have the same class." He smirked. _Damn, he does that well._

"Can I have it back please?"

He made a twirling motion with his finger. Cautiously, I turned around. Moving my hair over my left shoulder, Jace gingerly placed the sheath over my head and rested the strap on my right shoulder. I couldn't be sure if I was hallucinating, but his fingers seemed to linger.

"Thanks." The word barely came out.

"You're most welcome." He turned me back around and smiled, but there was something devious behind it. _What are you playing at, Herondale?_

"Shall we get going?" He gestured for me to exit first.

I moved around him, careful not to make physical contact. "So you have Sword Masters first, too, huh?" What were the odds?

"Yupp. I also have Advanced Grey Book Studies with you at 10. It'll be a blast," he said somewhat sarcastically.

"Not when I knock you on your ass."

"Oh, really? You think you can beat me?" He raised an eyebrow in amusement.

"No."

"Didn't think so."

"No. I _know_ I can beat you."

He very ungracefully snorted. "Highly unlikely."

"We'll see."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

 **Clary's POV**

His blade cut fluidly through the air, making a satisfying whooshing sound. Artfully, it slashed downwards with an unnatural grace for a weapon before connecting with his opponent's blade. Just as gracefully Jace moved as if he were dancing. _Maybe this_ is _dancing for Jace._ His footwork was perfect as was his stance. It was strong and steady, yet it also stayed flexible, making his body look so natural in its transitions of battle stances. Every ounce of him sung " _warrior, ready for battle."_ It was beautiful. _He's beautiful._

I shook my head, stopping that train of thought quickly. I focused on the sparring going on in front of me again. Jace was parrying with a boy named Sebastian. Poor kid didn't stand a chance against him, even though Sebastian wasn't half bad. Whenever his opponent even so much as twitched in anticipation of attack, Jace reacted quickly. He blocked every blow thrown at him effortlessly, even forcefully. I had never seen someone use defensive techniques the way Jace did. A single arm block could quickly turn into a move of decapitation with Jace from what I'd seen. Sebastian was holding his own. He'd succeeded in at least getting to a point of being able to turn on the offensive a few times which was more than the other opponents had managed, and his defense was perfect. Jace was a formidable opponent, especially when attacking.

At that moment, Jace made a move that laid Sebastian out on the floor, his sword skidding away from him. _Well, that's that then._ Jace reached a hand out to help his fallen opponent up. Once Sebastian was back on his feet, Jace turned towards the watching class. He held himself regally, oozing confidence. "So, Prof, who's next?" He clapped his hands and rubbed them together.

Professor Whitehorn, teacher of the Sword Masters course, had decided we were to spend the first day of class with sparring competitions to see where everyone was in terms of skills…and each other. We were paired up, and when the first round was over the winners formed a group and paired off again. The losers did the same. The two original group were then split again after the second round into winners and losers again, so there were four groups. This continued until there was only 8 people left that were still undefeated. Everyone else had finished their sparring because the best people in the class seemed to take longer to defeat an opponent. The farther they got in the competition, the better their opponents got, so the longer it took to win.

With only 8 people left, only one pair at a time sparred, allowing for the rest of the class to watch. I had been one of the eight and had won my first "final" making it into the winner's circle of 4 only to lose to a girl named Ashlyn. Jace had just beaten Sebastian, making him my final opponent. If I won this next one, I would be ranked 3rd in the class. If not, I'd be 4th which wasn't much worse, but it still wasn't the top 3. Of course, if Jace won against Ashlyn, he'd be the top of the class. There was no doubt he'd win of course. Ashlyn had been drooling over him through the entire class, and I knew she'd be distracted during their fight.

Professor Whitehorn answered Jace's question, "Next you'll be with Ashlyn." He pointed to the girl who must've had something in her eye with the frequency she was blinking. Then again some people called it "fluttering the eyes" in an attempt to "flirt." I rolled my eyes at the thought while the professor continued, "However, you'll be taking a break while Clary and Sebastian complete their final round." I stood up from my spot against the side wall and headed out towards the mats set up in the center of the room.

As he went to sit down, Jace strode past me, his arm barely skimming my own. I felt him lean down as he whispered, almost seductively, in my ear, "Good luck."

I suppressed a shudder that had nothing to do with disgust and continued on. I noticed as I pulled my sword from its sheath that it was starting to feel heavier in my hands which meant I was getting tired. Out on the streets, I mainly fought with seraph blades and daggers both of which tended to be lighter. I faced Sebastian and slid into the starting stance. Looking straight at Sebastian's face, I watched as he flashed a sweet smile and slid into the same stance I was currently in.

Professor Whitehorn stood to my left, Sebastian right, as he asked if we were ready.

"Yupp." Sebastian nodded.

I breathed out slowly to the point where I didn't feel the movement of air on my lips. "Ready." Professor Whitehorn told us to begin, and I lunged.

* * *

 **Jace's POV**

 _The girl's got fire, I'll give her that._

I watched as Clary leaped into action quickly in the first few seconds. Wow. She was tiny which should be a detriment to her, but she knew her strengths and weaknesses in battle. It was obvious she moved quickly to take her opponent off-guard otherwise she could be easily overtaken by someone with more mass and strength. What she lacked in size, she made up for in her strategy and skill. Based upon the way she attacked at the small openings Sebastian left open, I could tell she had been trained well even if her form could use some work. She held herself on the balls of her feet- good, but she also didn't balance herself correctly. It wouldn't matter if she was going head to head like she was now, but in a real battle if something came up behind her, she could easily be pushed forward, causing her to lose her balance and be sent tumbling.

Clary swung blow after blow towards Sebastian who barely managed to fend off her oncoming sword. The blade moved so quickly, I could no longer see the stars that adorned the blade symbolizing her surname, Morgenstern. Clary was being vicious, not taking any prisoners. I smiled slightly because in a way, she looked like a little angry elf.

Clary's blade collided with Sebastian's one last time, sending his blade to the floor. That was the boy's problem. He had talent, but he didn't keep a firm enough grip on the hilt of the sword. I was glad she won. There was no doubt Clary better than him overall. It was too bad that she didn't beat the blond girl that keeps staring at me, though. She should have. The other girl had gotten lucky when Clary had left her right side vulnerable. Dumb mistake, but the blonde had seen it and taken advantage. Now I would have to fight her instead of Clary, and right now I wanted nothing more than to fight her to see exactly what she was made of.

* * *

 **Clary's POV**

After beating Sebastian, we had moved off the mat to sit down and watch Jace's fight with Ashlyn. I prepared to analyze Jace's fighting form again in order to better improve my own, of course, but I became distracted when Sebastian began talking to me. I hadn't even noticed that he had sat down next to me.

"You're a strong fighter. You deserved to win. Congrats on placing 3rd in the class." He smiled.

I tried to gage whether he was being sarcastic but decided he was actually being sincere. It was a little unsettling because I wasn't used to getting compliments on my fighting skills. Jon certainly didn't give me any. He only criticized me in order to make me better. "Thanks. You're pretty decent yourself."

He chuckled. "Maybe, I never expected to get to the final four, though. I don't know if I'm just that good or the rest of the class is that bad."

"A little of both, I think." I laughed. "I was raised where emphasis was placed on fighting skills. Most of the skills I've seen here are pretty pathetic. I don't who trained them, but more time needed to be dedicated to training. More Shadowhunters are out on the battlefield than sitting in a room transcribing history. The Clave's priorities need to be re-evaluated."

Sebastian nodded. "I wasn't given a lot of fighting training, but when my parents died, I dedicated time to practicing my defense. Why was there emphasis placed on fighting skills in your training?"

"Because my mother was scared of my brother and I being unprepared. There are still rogue Shadowhunters out there that believe in Valentine's cause. She worried that they would come after us, or that anther Uprising would occur."

"Oh. Intense."

I laughed. "Not really. No one ever attacked us. I've never been afraid of that, and it was fun really. My brother and I love to beat each other up and give the loser crap about it. It's probably why we're so close."

"Is it just you, your brother and your mom, then?"

"No. My mom married when I was younger. She was one of the first to marry a Downworlder."

"Who?"

"Oh, right, Luke or you might know him as Lucien Graymark. He goes by Luke now that he's a werewolf and not a Shadowhunter. They had two kids also. James and Evangeline."

"Oh, are they here at the academy as well?"

"No, James is 10 and has the werewolf gene, so he'll never be able to become a real Shadowhunter technically. We still train him even if he can't be Marked. Little Evie is only 4."

"So you're, what? 7 years older?"

"No, 6, but Jon is 17, so he's 7 years older than them. What about you? Do you have any siblings?"

Sebastian shook his head. "No, just me. I have my aunt, though. She a part of the Paris Institute. I lived with her before coming here. And my cousin, Aline."

"Oh! You're related to Aline?"

"You know her?"

"Yeah, her girlfriend, Helen, is my roommate. She's nice. I like her."

"Most do." He smiled again in a way that made me a little uncomfortable.

I turned back to watching the fight since I wasn't sure how to keep the conversation going, only to find that it was over. Ashlyn and Jace shaking hands while Professor Whitehorn wrote our ranks on the board behind them. Jace was listed as number 1. _Shocker. He won._

My eyes drifted back to where Jace and Ashlyn were standing to see Ashlyn talking to Jace with very flirtatious body language going on. As she was obviously trying to get his attention, I noticed he was looking directly at me. Our eyes met, and he turned to Ashlyn, mumbling something to her. She smiled and then waved as he moved away from her. I turned my attention to Sebastian who still sat next to me.

"So, what class do you have next?"

Sebastian looked up from his lap where his sword lay. He was inspecting it for any damage I assumed. He smiled-again. "History of Demon Realms, not that I'm looking forward to it. It sounds unbelievably boring."

"Me too! Walk with me?"

"It'd be my pleasure, Ms, Morgenstern." Sebastian had adorned his voice with a British accent, making me giggle.

Just then a pair of impeccably polished boots stopped in from of where we still sat on the floor. I looked up to find an expressionless Jace. "You missed my fight. It was epic. You both could have learned something by watching me. I'm that good."

"And you're that cocky. I'm sorry if we offended you, but we were talking. Not that it should matter." I snapped. For some reason, this kid just kept getting under my skin, one way or another. One way in particular, but we weren't going there.

Jace shrugged. "You're loss, Clary. You missed the show. I get to look at myself every day." He turned away from us and began to walk away. He stopped a moment later and said over his shoulder, "And I'm not cocky, love. I know my skill level and yours. I was simply stating facts. See you in an hour."

As he strode away, Sebastian who had picked his jaw up off the floor after Jace's rude interruption, turned to me. "What is his problem?"

"I don't know, but let's just get to our next class." We stood up and headed out the door.

"What did he mean, 'See you in an hour?'"

I rolled my eyes. "I have another class with him, Advanced Grey Book studies. Apart from him actually being there, I'm looking forward to it. He has no idea what's he's in for."

"What do you mean?"

I grinned devilishly. "He has no idea just who exactly is teaching that class, but let's just say they know me really well and won't like his attitude."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

 **Clary's POV**

As Sebastian had predicted, History of Demon Realms had been fairly boring. It turns out that we don't actually know much of anything about demon realms because no Shadowhunter had ever been to one and returned back to our realm. Everything known has been recorded from experiences warlocks' have had. Considering this, I had no idea why this class was even in existence. It's forbidden to enter one as of right now anyways.

Regardless of this, the class is boring and the professor is a hard-ass, probably because he doesn't see the point in teaching this course either. He demanded upon entrance that no one talk during class, threatening to fail the whole class if any one did. Then he had gone through what he expected out of us which wasn't much except a large project due at the end of term. It consisted of finding a warlock who had traveled to a Realm and interviewing them about said Realm. Then we would have to create a model of the Realm with the warlock's help and write a 30 page paper on it.

It was the most ridiculous assignment. Not only was the structure of the project like that of a Mundane's high school project which was useless, but it was impossible. Warlocks hardly ever deigned to give their time to talking to the Consul or Inquisitor let alone Shadowhunter teenagers, and even if they did, they tended to be very tight-lipped about their lives. Most students weren't going to be able to complete this assignment.

Growing up in New York with my mother, I had the advantage of getting to know Magnus Bane, the High Warlock of Brooklyn. He worked closely with my mother for some reason. I never knew why, but because of this, he was around a lot. Now we were close friends. He could still be his stand-offish self, but he always told me that my brother and I were the only two mortals he had ever watched grow up. Magnus would never admit it, but he was fond of us and would protect us at any costs. This is pretty amazing considering Magnus has a reputation of watching out for his own interests. _I guess I need to send Magnus a fire message, asking him for help._

After class had ended, I headed towards where Advanced Grey Book Studies would be placed, but Sebastian grabbed my hand. I stopped and turned to face him. "Yes?" I must've looked completely perplexed as to why he had stopped me because he laughed.

"I didn't mean to startle you, but I was wondering if maybe after you're done with classes, maybe you would want to train in the gym with me?"

Train? With Sebastian? I had only ever trained with Kadir, Jon, and Simon. Fighting different people might help with improving my skills. "After lunch maybe? Around 2? I'll meet you in the gym?"

"Or we could grab lunch together first."

"I'm supposed to meet my brother for lunch, actually. I would invite you to join us, but I think he'd have an aneurysm if I brought a random boy with me to lunch. Sorry." I tried to smile politely. It might've come out as a grimace. I noticed Sebastian still held my hand in his.

Sebastian smiled. "Ah, the overprotective brother. No worries. I'll see you at 2 in the gym, then."

At this moment, someone bumped into Sebastian from behind, yanking his hand away from mine. Sebastian whipped around with an angry glint in his eyes that I would've never expected from this sweet boy. "Watch it!"

"Excuse me. I'm sorry, but I wasn't prepared for someone to just be standing in the hallway, blocking it." Jace's face was hard as he glared at Sebastian. His eyes flicked up to mine, and instantly, his face smoothed. Smirking he turned back to Sebastian. "And if you're going to ask a girl out, do it with some class."

I felt the blood drain from my face. Had asking to train been asking me out? Was that what Jace meant? Sebastian was a nice guy and all, but I didn't really want to date him. I quickly decided that it was better to just ignore what Jace said and get him out of there because Sebastian was looking murderous. And if there was a fight, Sebastian would lose. Badly. I would ask Sebastian about the whole date thing later if only to not give Jace the satisfaction of watching that conversation.

I stepped forward, placing my body in between theirs. "Jace, class will start soon."

"Yeah, I'll be there. There's something I want to say to Bassie, here."

"Bassie? Oh, never mind." I smiled sweetly at Jace. "I was kind of hoping you'd walk with me."

At this, Jace's head whipped down so his wide eyes met mine. Slowly, his eyes narrowed, and he scrutinized my face. "Of course," he began cautiously. "What kind of man would I be to not escort a lady." _Oh, by the Angel._ I rolled my eyes in exasperation as Jace turned and began to head towards class.

I quickly turned to Sebastian, who stood dumbstruck, and mouthed, "You're welcome. See you at 2."

He smiled as he realized what I had done and exited the building without another word. I hurried and caught up with Jace. "What the hell was that?"

Jace looked down at me, as if surprised that I had spoken. "A lady should never cuss." He looked forward again.

"That was not the answer to my question."

"What? Didn't like the way I _accidentally_ bumped into your boyfriend?" He was being completely snarky.

"He's not my boyfriend."

"From what I saw, you said that you would go on a date with him."

"We're training together, not going on a date."

"First of all, if you want to train, you should find a better partner, or in other words, me. You'd see more improvement with me than him, not to mention I'm better looking, and if you'll be studying someone's body for that long, it might as well be one close to a god's. Second of all, I am inclined to agree with your earlier statement. Training is not an acceptable date, if you have any redeemable qualities, anyway. However, you should tell him that. Angel, that guy has no class when asking a girl out. He should've asked you to dinner or at least asked you in a nicer environment than the hallway." Jace snorted. "Honestly, watching that interaction was painful. I had to intervene if only to get him to shut up."

"Wait- you did that _on purpose_? Why? Why don't you just mind your own business? He wasn't asking _you_ out."

"Good for him he didn't. I would have never given a boy like that the time of day, and neither should you."

"I don't think who I date or who asks me out is any of your business!" Jace stood there with such control.

I wanted slap him.

By this point, we stood outside the door to the classroom. "Besides, _Jace,_ you should be one to talk about classy guys. You have about as much class as a pornstar with all your whoring around." At this Jace's mouth dropped open. Closing his jaw, he turned and entered the classroom without another word. I silently followed.

Upon entering, Jace went and took a seat in the middle of the class. He stared straight forward, not paying any attention to me standing in front of the door. I glanced over the class. As of right now, there was no more than ten people in the room, including Jace and I. I knew it was supposed to be a small class since not many people could become advanced in runes at such an early age. I moved towards the front and center of the room. Picking up a piece of chalk, I dropped my bag onto the ground and placed my sword gently on the professor's desk. I pulled my stele from my pocket and placed it next to my sword.

I noticed the room had gone quiet, so I snuck a glance to find that everyone in the room now had their attention on me, including Jace. His forehead was creased as he tried to figure out what I was doing. Not saying a word, I wrote my name at the top of the chalkboard large enough for the people in the back to see. Next I drew three runes underneath it. I knew for a fact, no one in the room knew what they meant because I had been the one to invent them a few weeks ago.

Slowly I turned back towards the other students and said, "Hi, I'm Clary Morgenstern, and I'll be teaching Advanced Grey Book Studies. I don't expect you to call me Professor Morgenstern. In fact, I prefer Clary. If you have any questions about this course or myself, I'm going to ask that you wait until you can identify the three runes I've drawn on the board."

Jace, who had been drinking from a water bottle, choked, sending water flying. "What?" he croaked.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

 **Clary's POV**

As the class began talking amongst themselves about the meaning of the runes I had drawn, Jace skipped straight to questioning me. "What do you mean you're the teacher? How could you be the teacher?" Jace narrowed his eyes as he wiped water from his chin.

I sighed. "Do you know what these runes are?"

"No. Of course not. I'm not in this class for skimping on my rune training. I know every rune in the Grey Book, and none of those are in the Grey Book." He said in a knowing, controlled voice. By this point everyone had stopped talking, paying attention to Jace's outburst. A flash of understanding and an amused smirk crossed Jace's face. "Maybe you're not the teacher. Maybe you're just screwing with us, with me. Is that it? Are you doing this because I bumped into Bassie?"

I rolled my eyes at Jace's ridiculous nickname for Sebastian. What was his problem with him anyway? It wasn't like Sebastian beat him in our earlier sparring matches. In fact, Jace had seemed fine with Sebastian until he ran into him in the hallway. I sighed. "No, Jace. I'm not "screwing" with you." I mad air quotes with my fingers. "Also, that is a regrettable choice of words seeing as you "screw" everything that walks by you in a skirt while I restrain from acting on primal urges."

"Burn, man!" A boy in the back of the class yelled, reminding me of Simon. I smiled.

Jace ignored him, but still continued to smirk. "But you have those urges, huh." It wasn't a question.

I dropped my head into my hands and shook my head. Taking a deep breath, I raised it back up and moved off the topic quickly. I addressed the class, "Jace is right in that the runes are not in the Grey Book, but they are actual runes. I created them. This… skill that I have is what made the Clave choose me as the instructor for this class. Also, I have a natural ability to learn new runes quickly and precisely. It doesn't take me a few tries to learn some runes like it does others. I hope this answers any of your questions."

A girl near the front spoke up. "Why are you able to create new runes? No one else can. Not even the Silent Brothers and they dedicate their lives to this kind of stuff."

"Strictly speaking, I'm not supposed to divulge that information to anyone. My family, myself, the Consul, Inquisitor, and the Silent Brothers are the only ones who know. All I can tell you is that I have a higher concentration of angel blood in my veins than other Shadowhunters. I cannot tell you how or why." I looked around at the small class. I seemed to have everyone's attention, and they seemed to be taking me seriously. I knew that was going to be the hardest part in my teaching this class because I'm their age, but so far, so good. "My goal in leading this class isn't to teach you. It's to guide you through learning the most difficult runes in the Grey Book and then ones that I've created. Currently there's a book the Silent Brothers and I are working on as a… modern companion to the Grey Book which included the runes I create. You'll be among the first to learn them"

"While that's great and all, care to prove those actually work?" Jace pointed at the board with an unamused expression.

I glanced back at the runes I had drawn behind me. One could tear a major hole in any surface, another could bind an element into a weapon, and the last one could turn anyone invisible even to those with the Sight. I didn't think the Clave would praise me for destroying a part of the Academy, so the first one was out. I could do either of the other two if I could get a hold of someone's water bottle, but which one would be better to show the class?

"Okay, the first one is a much more powerful version of an open rune known as Breach. That one can destroy a large part of a surface. I can't perform that one here, but maybe some other time somewhere else, I'll show you. The second one is known as Combine and it will bring an element into a weapon, so your weapon would then have the properties and strength from that element. You'd also be able to repel the element from the weapon, making the element a weapon itself. I could demonstrate that here if someone wants to give me their water bottle. The last one will make someone invisible. It's more powerful than a Glamour and known as Unseen. Not only will humans not be able to see you, but demons, Downworlders, and other Shadowhunters won't be able to either unless they have the same rune on. Which of these two would you like to see?"

"Invisibility!" A majority of the students shouted. I nodded my head and gestured to Jace.

"What?"

"Come here. I'll draw the rune on you as an example."

Jace snorted but stood up and walked to the front anyway. "Alright, where do you want to put it?"

"I'll put it on your shoulder."

"Ahh, I see now. You just wanted to see me without a shirt on." He leaned down closer to me. "You know, you could always come to my room later and get a private viewing. All you have to do is ask," he whispered.

Unamused, I shoved his head up, away from mine and said, "Actually, the rune is large, so it won't fit on your arm." After he pulled off his shirt, I placed my stele on the skin of his left shoulder, replicating the rune on the board. It took much more effort than I'd like to admit to not let my eyes travel down his body, following the lines of muscle underneath his golden skin. I also tried to not linger on how soft his skin was under my left hand which I used to steady myself and his shoulder as I drew. It was also deliciously warm. I took a moment to glance up at him. I was surprised to find him watching me. His eyes were focused and his lips parted slightly. I could feel his little pants of breath on my cheek. Maybe the sting of the rune was bothering him. "You okay?" I whispered.

"Yeah," He breathed and shook his head, looking back towards the class.

As I finished the rune, I heard a gasp and watched as Jace was no longer visible even though I could still feel him beneath the hand that still held his shoulder. I turned back to the class. "Now, as you can all see, or should I say not see, Jace is no longer visible to you. If you'd like to try to peel away a Glamour to prove it's not just that, go ahead. Although, you won't be able to because it's not one. He is here though. See?" I picked up my hand and brought it back down on his shoulder where it make a smack, and Jace swore under his breath. Then I brought my hand away again, bringing my other hand up. I shoved Jace's invisible form back towards the desk, sending him into it. His momentum moved the desk, proving that he was still there.

"By the Angel, woman, take it easy," Jace remarked.

I faced the class. "Unfortunately, while we can no longer see him, we can still hear the imbecile."

"Hey! I'm standing right here, ya know!"

"Actually since I can't see you, I wouldn't know if you had left or not."

"Smart-ass." I heard Jace mumble under his breath.

"Look who's talking," I retorted.

"Thought you couldn't see me."

"Point proven." I turned my attention to a girl who had her hand raised as Jace swore again. "Yes?"

"We can't see him, but we can still hear him. Technically, couldn't we put a Soundless rune on him, so we wouldn't have any way of knowing where he was without actually bumping into him?"

"Yes, but while this rune is stronger than a Glamour, it won't last as long. It will only last for about an hour at most, depending on the person and how much movement you're doing. You'd have to keep reapplying it to stay completely untraceable by sight for a prolonged period of time."

I looked at my watch to see what time it was, only to find it was already noon. _Wow, that went fast._ I dismissed them, asking them to come to the next class with five runes they didn't know or hadn't mastered yet from the Grey Book. After they'd left, I noticed Jace's bag was still by his desk. "Jace, where are you?"

"Sitting in my seat like a good little boy." I rolled my eyes at his response.

Heading towards where he supposedly was, I grabbed my bag, throwing it over my shoulder, and then grabbed my stele in one hand and my sword in the other. Reaching his desk, I placed my stele down on it. I found his left shoulder with my hand to which he said, "You just can't keep your hands off me, huh?" Quickly, I brought the tip of my sword down across the place I had drawn the rune, effectively disabling it. He reappeared with an astounded look across his face. "Fuck, that hurt."

"Sorry, but I didn't want you roaming the halls like that. If some poor, unsuspecting girl got unexpectedly groped, I'd be to blame."

"What do you think I am? Some kind of animal?"

"Of a kind." I had picked up my stele and was now finishing the Iratze across the gash I had given him. It was already almost completely healed.

"I resent that."

"Of course you do." Making sure I had all of my belongings, I left the classroom, leaving Jace still sitting in the desk looking incredulous. Before letting the door close behind me, I shouted, "Don't forget your shirt in the front of the classroom. You've already got a reputation. Don't need to make it worse."


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

 **Jace's POV**

The food in front of me looked unappetizing at best. I should probably eat something, but I couldn't seem to focus on food or the people around me. Alec and Isabelle were having a conversation about their morning classes. Simon had invited himself to join us with the excuse that Clary and Jon were having a private conversation over lunch. The boy was practically drooling over Isabelle as she talked. It was disgusting. Meanwhile, I sat here, not saying anything while moving the food on my plate back and forth with my fork.

I couldn't stop thinking about the training "date" _she_ had with that idiot, Sebastian. He really was a spineless moron, not to mention something didn't seem right when it came to him. Every time I watched him, there was something very… insincere about the way he moved and interacted. I couldn't tell if he just was unsure of himself or if he was deliberately putting on a front for others. If it was the latter, it wasn't good. It meant he had something to hide, and even if it wasn't something along the lines of dead women in his walls, hiding something makes him untrustworthy. And, yet, she still deigns to talk to him. Is she just that dense and doesn't see it? Or is she just giving him the benefit of the doubt? From what I could tell, it was most likely the latter. She was far from stupid. Of that much, I was certain, yet I still had a hard time figuring her out.

I normally had a girl figured out within seconds of meeting them. I could tell if they were shy or outgoing, quiet or loud, self-conscious or self-confident. I could tell if a girl liked to have fun or preferred to study or if a girl was submissive or a leader. However, with _her_ I hadn't been able to determine with certainty who she was. When I had first bumped into her, I thought she was quiet, shy, and self-conscious. Then she had opened her mouth and this feisty, little thing came out. She didn't seem to take any crap, but at the same time if you said the right thing, she'd get upset. She was so many things at once, and I didn't know how to deal with her. I kind of liked it.

I kind of liked her.

Clary.

I glanced up to the table where Clary sat with her brother. Her brother appeared to be talking quickly and with anger. Clary responded to him while her hands flew through the air, demonstrating her frustration. With a huff, she sat back into her seat as Jonathan said something else. He turned to look in my direction, and our eyes met. With a quick glare, Jonathan turned back and said something more calmly to Clary. Whatever he said must not have been welcomed, though, because Clary's head whipped up to his, and she stood up quickly. She stormed out of the dining hall, but not before she said one last thing to him, pointing her finger.

 _Wonder what that was about._

"Earth to Jace! HELLO!" I became aware of the fact that Alec was desperately trying to get my attention.

"What?"

"What's up with you? You've been in a weird mood this whole time. Talk to me."

"There's nothing to talk about."

"There must be something. You were staring off into a different realm while concentrating on something."

Simon chose this moment to interject on our conversation. "He was staring at my parabatai," he said through a mouthful of food. "Don't worry, man. I've been there. I know what it's like. I was in love with her for years before I realized it would never work. Also, you've got the issue of dealing with her brother. He doesn't like you very much."

"I don't know what you're talking about," I said calmly but there was a threatening edge to my voice. Simon held his hand up in surrender.

"Whatever, man."

I turned back to Alec who was focusing on me with suspicious, narrowed eyes. I rolled my eyes at him and shoved his shoulder, bringing him out of it. I grabbed my plate and went to throw out the rest of my uneaten food. As I took one last swig of water and dumped my cup onto the pile of dishes, I heard someone come up behind me. My instincts brought me around to face to my confronter.

Jonathan stood, looking as if he wanted to rip out my throat. I relaxed as I perceived no actual threat, and he began to speak. "I don't know what's going on between you and my sister, Herondale, but stay away from her. She doesn't need a boy like you that she'll fall in love with only to be left behind once you've slept with her. My sister is more than a conquest. I will personally make sure you won't produce children if you try anything with her."

I looked back at him with what I knew was a calm expression, but I was seething. Who did this guy think he was? "I don't think your sister would appreciate you dictating her life. I know I don't want you dictating mine, so keep that thing on your face you call a nose out of my personal life. I will do whatever, _whomever,_ I please… with consent of course. And trust me, Clary will say yes. More than once, too."

Jonathan looked as if he'd about had a heart attack. His face had turned red with rage, and his hands were balled into fists. I smirked, but forgot to keep my guard up. Before I could react, I felt Jonathan's fist slamming into my jaw with a painful crunch. I caught myself from falling and turned back, ready for a fight. However, before I could do anything I felt Alec and Izzy grab my arms and begin to drag me away while Simon went over to hold back Jonathan.

"What in the hell did you say to him, Jace?" Alec asked once we had left the dining hall. "You should get some ice. That's going to bruise."

"Me? What did I say? He's the one who confronted me about staying away from his sister-"

"Well, maybe you should," Isabelle interrupted. I looked at her completely baffled.

"Like I told him, stay out of my business!" I growled, tired of people trying to sway my choices in life, especially since they kept telling me to stay away from her.

"Jace! Stop! We're not your enemies! Just calm down! So he told you to stay away from her but then punched you?" Oh, Alec. Ever the mediator. I turned away from Isabelle who still looked at me in disapproving manner. _What's her problem with Clary?_

"No, then I told him I'd make his sister say yes to me. Over and over." Isabelle threw up her hands, and Alec rubbed his forehead, looking as if he was trying not to yell.

He managed to ground out, "You need to stop doing things like that." To which, I simply shrugged.

I glanced around us, only to see Clary flying down to the dining hall entrance where Simon and Jonathan were now exiting. Alec, Izzy, and I weren't far away, so I could hear what Clary was saying to her brother.

"Seriously?! I told you to just stay away from him! I don't understand why you have such a problem talking to him! I know he's an asshole, but I can take care of myself! I can make my own choices, Jonathan!"

Her brother flinched at the sound of his full name coming out of her mouth. I almost felt bad for him. With her this angry, her hair looked like flames around her head. I wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of that chastisement. Clary looked up, feeling my eyes on her. Turning away from her brother, she began walking towards us.

"I'll be right back." Simon nodded while Jonathan looked pissed again, but he refrained from doing anything. As she came to a stop in front of me, Clary reached her hands up to my face. She gently turned my head, so she could inspect the area of Jonathan's punch. "Are you okay? I'm sorry my brother is such an ass."

"Apparently so am I." I watched her turn bright red as she realized I had been listening. I decided to save her some embarrassment by continuing on. "And don't be. I provoked him."

"You did?"

I grabbed her hands, which still held my face, in both of mine and brought them down in front of us. I noticed she had a thin, simplistic ring on her left, middle finger. I couldn't make it out, but I saw an inscription on it. I didn't drop her hands, but instead, played with her ring out of nervousness. I don't know what it was about her, but I felt the need to confess what I had said to provoke him.

"Yeah. I, uh, my implications that I would get you into bed with me."

"You, what!?" She pulled away from me quickly. I knew I should apologize, but I simply shrugged.

"You really are an ass!" She yelled and stormed off, out of the building.

I watched her go. I felt something telling me to go after her, but I quickly shoved that feeling deep down inside of me because in the end, her brother was right: I should stay away from her.

I didn't deserve her.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

 **Clary's POV**

Bringing my hands up to defend my torso, I gave a roundhouse kick into the left side of the dummy. It went flying, and I sighed as I went to retrieve it. I continued to release my pent up anger through training in the gym. Fuck Jonathan for trying to control me. Punch. Fuck Jace for thinking he could get me into bed. Punch. Fuck Jace for getting involved with my relationship with Sebastian, especially because we were just _friends_. Kick. Fuck Jace for be cocky. Punch. _Fucking Jace._ Kick. The dummy went flying again.

Instead of retrieving it, I stood still, trying to catch my breath. I was still in a fighting stance. No matter how much I trained, I couldn't seem to get my frustration out. I didn't know why what Jace said bothered me so much. I knew that he slept around just based on my run in with him this morning. I think what was really upsetting me was that I started to feel as if Jace wasn't such a bad guy and that we could be friends.

I won't deny it was fun to banter back and forth with him this morning. When I found out that he just wanted to get me into bed with him, I was disappointed. Everything he'd done was fake. I had thought that the interaction with Sebastian was his way of trying look out for me even though he went about it in the wrong way. I let out a scream of frustration.

"Easy there. Someone's going to think you're being murdered in here."

I whipped around to face Jace who stood, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. I was slightly satisfied to see that he didn't have that smug look that was frequently on his face. "What are you doing here? Can't you just leave me alone?" I spat.

He pushed away from the wall and walked a few steps towards me. "I honestly didn't know you were here. I came here to train. That's all. I was surprised to find you here, actually."

I eyed him suspiciously. "I needed to hit something. Besides, I'm supposed to meet Sebastian here in less than an hour." I turned away from him as I spoke. I walked over and picked the dummy up. Placing it back against the far wall, I reached for the water bottle I had placed on the bench next to the wall of dummys. I sat down with a sigh, and I noticed much to my chagrin that Jace had followed me. He took the seat next to me.

"Did you satisfy your need?" His tone was neutral. I couldn't tell if he had a second meaning behind his words, so I chose to ignore it if he did.

"No. I've never been this angry before. I feel as if I need to actually go out and kill something. I don't really want to be talking to you, so I'm going to go since you want to train. I will ask you to please be gone by 2, though." I stood up and began to leave.

Jace's next words stopped me in my tracks. "Why don't you hit me?"

"What?" I asked incredulously. I whirled around to face him.

He got up off the bench and came to stand directly in front of me. He was close enough that I could smell him. "You know you want to, so just hit me already. It will make you feel better."

I thought through what he said. He was right that I did want to hit him. I _really_ wanted to hit him. He deserved it. In the end, I simply shook my head. "Hitting you won't solve anything. I'm just upset that you've been trying to get me into bed all day."

His eyes widened as I talked and he stared at me in shock. After a moment, he snorted and shook his head, looking at his shoes. " _Oh, Clary."_ Then he began to laugh.

"What? What is so goddamn funny?"

"You. You thinking I've been trying to get you into bed all day because of what I said to your brother." He laughed harder.

I put my hands on my hips. "And why is that so funny?"

He looked up at me through his hair which had flopped into his eyes. He pushed it back. "I wasn't trying to get you into bed. I know how to flirt with a girl to achieve that end, and I also know that it wouldn't work on you. I found it fun to mess with you, instead, because you get riled up so easily. It's been quite enjoyable to joke with you all day. I found it especially amusing that you said I had as much class as a pornstar." He started to laugh again.

Despite my best efforts, I found a smile spreading across my face and his laugher contagious. After a couple minutes of laughing together, I composed myself. "Then why would you say that to my brother?"

He shrugged. "He came up to me and told me to stay away from you. I didn't like being confronted or told what to do. I am sorry I said it, though. I shouldn't have."

"As long as you know that I'm never sleeping with you, I forgive you. To be honest, you're not my type."

Jace raised his eyebrows while an amazing smile crossed his face. "Oh? I didn't realize you had so much experience. And what exactly is your type, Ms. Morgenstern? Would your type happen to brown haired boys with even less experience than you?"

I knew he was referring to Sebastian. "No. I don't want to date Sebastian," I stated his unsaid question outright. Jace became serious suddenly.

"Good. That prick doesn't deserve a girl like you. You're much too smart and skilled to be with someone like him. You deserve someone who will see past your gorgeous face and recognizes the amazing young woman beneath." Unconsciously, Jace reached a hand out and brushed a strand of my untamed hair behind my ear. "You should be with someone who realizes that you're much too good for them and who feels lucky that you chose to be with them, who feels lucky that you fell in love with them."

Our faces were now extremely close. I could feel his breath against my face. I gazed up at him and noticed that his eyes had various shades of gold and yellow within them. Looking into them was like getting lost in a sea of molten gold. I stopped breathing, and watched as his eyes flicked down to my mouth. "I-" he began.

"You what?" I breathed almost silently.

"I want to-" He took a step closer.

I mimicked his movement and moved closer to him. "You want to what?"

I felt his hand gently place itself on my waist. The contact seemed to shake him from his trance because he quickly stepped away, removing his hand. Clearing his throat he said, "I want to, uh, train. Join me?"

I shook my head in an attempt to get rid of the cloudiness. "So you can teach me your mad skills?" I tried to joke, but I was still reeling from how close we had just been.

"I wasn't trying to be rude earlier. I really meant that I could help you get better. Besides," he said, looking up at the clock on the wall. "It looks like you need someone to train with. Bassie never showed up."

I looked at the time. It was 2:20. Huh. The time had gone by quickly, and Jace was right. Sebastian had never shown up. I picked up two staffs from the rack to my left. Throwing one at Jace, who caught it with an unnatural grace, I said, "You're on."


	9. Chapter 9

**Okay, I don't normally do author's notes (I find them annoying sometimes, so I avoid them as much as possible), but I wanted to ask if y'all wanted to see more of any one character? Magnus is introduced (finally) in this chapter and he'll be in the next. Also, I'm not done with Sebastian (or as Jace likes to call him, Bassie*.) I just thought I'd ask you guys seeing as your reading this! So, who would you like to see more of?**

 ***Also, I'll be impressed (and ecstatic) if any of you know what show I got this name from!**

Chapter 9

I woke up just as sore as I had the day after Jace and I had trained, and that had been 4 days ago. It was finally Saturday. A day with no class, no homework, and no people. The past few days had been particularly harrowing with Jace's constant teasing and smart-ass remarks. To be honest had it just been him, I probably wouldn't have minded it so much. However, starting Tuesday, Sebastian avoided talking to me at all costs, and any looks in my direction were glares. I couldn't understand it. He was the one who missed training on Monday, not me.

Anyway, today was _my_ day. I planned to get up and just paint all day in my room. Unsocial, I know, but I still wasn't used to training and learning on someone else's schedule. At the Institute, I would do what I wanted when I wanted for the most part. Some days, I went out and fought demons all day. Others I wouldn't start my studies until after I had finished a painting. I missed being in charge of my own life.

I also missed my little siblings and Mom and Luke more than I cared to let on. Jonathan had asked me one day when I was feeling down if I missed them. I had said I was okay to which he replied, "It's okay to miss them. I miss them, too." That statement had shocked me more than it should have. My brother was not one for the soft emotions. Anger, yes. Stuff like love and compassion? Not so much.

As I thought about my brother's changing attitude, there was a knock at the door. I looked over to Helen and Aline who were still curled up in bed but awake.

"Expecting anyone?" I asked. Helen shook her head.

I sighed. I wanted to talk to a few people as possible today. I shuffled over to the door, groaning as my muscles protested. _By the Angel, what in the hell did Jace do to me?_ I yanked open the door, and I quickly squealed and tried to hide myself behind the door because I was only wearing an oversized t-shirt.

My visitor's eyes widened as he looked me up and down, and he swallowed with difficulty. However, within seconds the almost hungry look vanished, a cocky demeanor taking its place. "I'm sorry I'm not familiar with the language of high pitched noises that you females seem to speak." Laughing, he brushed past me into my room without an invitation. He glanced around, nodding to Aline and Helen. "Had I known that spectacular greeting awaited me, I would've come sooner."

From behind him, Aline muttered, "I don't think you could have. You _really_ seemed to enjoy the view." I sent her a glare while Helen elbowed her. "Ow, sorry."

The intruder that was Jace simply shrugged with indifference as I began to scramble onto my bed and under the blankets in an attempt to cover myself. It wasn't lost on me that Jace's eyes lingered a second longer than necessary on the skin of my thigh as my shirt rode up. "Clary, Clary, Clary, what am I going to do with you? If you squeal like that every time you're surprised, you'll never be as great a Shadowhunter as I."

I ignored him, not appreciating his arrogance after his rude intrusion. I wanted nothing more than to go back in time and not answer the door. "How about nothing, seeing as you came barging into my room uninvited." Jace raised his eyebrow, but said nothing. I continued. "What are you doing here anyway? It's 8 in the morning."

"Robert gave me permission to leave Alicante to chase after some Raum demons that are attacking people on the street. Isabelle and, of course, Alec are coming as well. I think Izzy's inviting Simon, too. Why? I couldn't tell you. In my opinion he's not very useful."

"And how would you know? You've never seen him fight! He's _my_ parabatai." I jumped to Simon's defense. What is it with this guy? First he barges into my room. Then, he attacks my best friend. What. The. Hell.

Jace held up his hands in a silent defense. "Okay, fine. Whatever. I'm just saying that with the way he hangs on Izzy, I don't think he'll be much help."

I laughed because Simon was _obsessed_ with the Isabelle and the idea of dating her. He talked about her constantly. "Well, I appreciate the offer, and I'm tempted to take you up on it since I would enjoy leaving Alicante. However, I have plans already with my paintbrush."

Jace rolled his eyes. "You can paint later. C'mon, I was going to surprise you, but I think it's the only way you'll come. It's in Brooklyn. We can go have lunch with your family when we're done." Jace reached out and began to pull me off my bed.

I didn't resist.

Within minutes I had changed into gear, and we were heading out to meet everyone else to portal to New York. "Why invite me at all?"

Jace glanced over at me, surprised. "Why wouldn't I?"

"Well, we've barely known each other for a week."

"So?" He started to look annoyed.

I sighed. "Well, I'm not sure we're exactly friends, and-"

Jace cut me off. "Aren't we?"

"Friends don't exactly make rude, snarky remarks about the other."

"I do."

"Gee, and I wonder why your only friends with _your siblings._ " I paused. "Speaking of which, you're going to have to explain to me why you're last name is Herondale and you look nothing like Izzy and Alec."

Jace looked at me with a mischievous glint in his eye. "I would, but you would have to be my _friend_ first. I don't go telling my life story to just anyone, you know."

I stuck my tongue out at him, and he laughed, making me smile. When he laughed, he looked so carefree. It was a good look on him. At this point, we had just about arrived at the meeting point when I saw one of my favorite people standing between Simon and Alec. I allowed myself to smirk because I noticed he stood very close to Alec, indeed.

Jace began to explain. "That's the warlock who will be creating the por-"

He cut off as I shrieked with joy and started to run. "MAGNUS!"

Magnus Bane turned with just enough time to wrap me into a hug. "Clary, darling. I'm glad you decided to join us."


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

"Clary, you never told me you knew such a delicious Shadowhunter." Magnus said to me once we separated.

The Shadowhunters standing next to us were, of course, listening in to our conversation, so Isabelle thanked Magnus at the same time Jace said, "She just wants me for herself." They both looked at each other, some rivalry passing between them, but before they started to argue about who Magnus was talking about, Magnus spoke up.

"I most definitely was not referring to either one of you, especially blondie there with the bad attitude." He gestured towards Jace, who frowned. "I was referring to him." Magnus said with a seductive smile in Alec's direction.

Blood rose to Alec's cheeks immediately. He coughed and mumbled, "Thank you," before awkwardly turning towards his sister. "Are we ready, yet?"

Magnus looked disappointed that Alec hadn't really acknowledged him or his confession. I placed my hand on his arm, grabbing his attention. "Are you hunting with us?"

He snorted. "And piss off my father? I think not." I laughed, knowing first-hand how difficult Magnus' father really was. But then again, what did one expect from a powerful Greater Demon?

"Who's your father?" Alec asked, intrigued. Isabelle elbowed him, and Alec simply looked at her with confusion.

Magnus, now pleased that Alec had addressed him, replied, "Perhaps I'll have to tell you over a cup of coffee sometime." He winked, and Alec blushed again but smiled slightly.

"Alright, enough with that. Warlock, a portal would be nice." Jace stood impatiently with his arms crossed.

Magnus, not appreciating Jace's tone or word choice, narrowed his cat eyes at Jace. Slowly, Magnus raised his forearm, with his index finger pointed at Jace. _Oh no._ Magnus' signature blue sparks flickered at the tip of his finger nail. "You better watch yourself. Your good looks can't get you out of every moronic situation you put yourself in, Shadowhunter, especially when I'm doing this for free. You're-"

"Magnus." I cut him off with a stern tone. He turned to me and sent a smile in my direction.

With an affectionate tone, he said, "Yes, biscuit?"

"Don't." Pouting like a small child, he put his finger down, his flames extinguishing. He walked briskly over to me and pointed back at Jace who watched us with a calm demeanor.

"He has a bad attitude and a repulsive personality. No one would miss him." I gave him a look that questioned that. "Not really. Soon, everyone would realize they're better off without him."

I leaned closer to Magnus' ear, a knowing smile on my face. "That delicious Shadowhunter you enjoy? Jace is his _parabatai."_ I dragged the last word out, anticipating the frown that would be on Magnus' face.

Pulling away abruptly, Magnus looked behind him at Alec and then Jace, his eyes portraying a desire to something naughty to both of them, but in different ways. He sighed in frustration. "Damn. Damn Shadowhunters and their ridiculous partner tattoos." He threw up his hands. Addressing me, he said, "I still think you're better off without Sergio, over there."

"It's still Simon!" Simon yelled, and I could hear him complaining to Isabelle. "I've been friends and Clary's parabatai for years now, and he still can't get my name right."

"I honestly don't give a rat's ass, Shiloh."

Simon groaned. "Not the rat thing, again. It was one time, Magnus. _ONE TIME!_ Let it go already."

Isabelle who was now laughing, choked out, "Rat thing?"

Before Magnus could tell Simon's most embarrassing moment (at least in Simon's eyes,) I interrupted them. "Magnus, Simon has been the best parabatai I could ask for, okay?"

"Fine, fine. I'm making the portal, now. Chairman Meow's waiting for me." At that he walked over to the wall of the nearest building and began to draw.

"I'm sorry, but can we go back to the whole 'biscuit' thing?" Jace had been quiet this whole time, but now spoke up. A smirk adorned his unnaturally attractive face.

I rolled my eyes. "No. It's a long story. One that has a beginning I'm unaware of." I shot daggers at Magnus' back. Magnus looked over his shoulder at me and waggled his eyebrows. _I love him, but I certainly do_ not _understand him one bit._

"I still want to know the rat story." Isabelle poked Simon with here stele. Simon gave her a horrified look and shook his head.

Jace placed a hand on my bicep, drawing my attention back to him. "I appreciate you stepping in earlier, but I can handle myself, _biscuit._ "

Magnus clapped his hands and whirled around. He began to shake his finger at Jace. "No, no no, you arrogant brat. Only I call Clary that. Don't make me conjure up a duck." Jace visibly paled and took a step away from Magnus. "Goodness, you Herondales haven't changed." Magnus rolled his eyes. After sending Jace a final warning look, he turned back and continued to draw the portal with chalk.

I opened my mouth, about to ask Jace why Magnus was threatening him with ducks, but Jace simply shook his head and went to stand by Alec.

 _Well, that was weird._

* * *

20 minutes later we were walking through Brooklyn. Magnus had said his goodbyes and handed Alec a piece of paper, which I imagined had his number on it, before heading off towards his apartment. We strode at a fairly fast pace. Jace, Alec, and Isabelle took the lead while Simon and I walked behind them.

It felt so good to be back in New York. It still smelled as horrible as I remembered, and tons of people still crowded the sidewalks. The five of us had an invisibility rune on, so we were navigating our way through the foot traffic, avoiding bumping into people. We passed a favorite restaurant of my family. I almost stopped but kept going. Simon, on the other hand, couldn't resist and halted in his tracks. Pausing, I noticed Jace and the Lightwoods kept on going, so I rushed back to Simon.

"C'mon. We're here to hunt Raum demons, not eat pancakes."

" _Coconut_ pancakes. They're delicious, and I'm hungry." With that, he waltzed into Taki's.

I mumbled a few expletives under my breath as I took note that the others were much farther ahead now and followed Simon in. I ended up running right into his back. He seemed to jostle out of whatever stupor he was in and pulled out a Seraph blade. "Sanvi." The blade reacted immediately to its given name, and I peered around Simon to see what had caused him to enter into battle mode. Identifying the danger, I cursed Jace for his antics as he currently had my sword strapped to his back as part of a joke I didn't understand. I pulled the twin daggers out of my boots, moving into battle stance.

We had found the Raum demons, and they weren't attacking people on the street. They were attacking _Downworlders_.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

 **Jace's POV**

I had only been to New York City a few times, but every time, I enjoyed admiring the girls with daddy issues. I watched an attractive blonde, who wore stilettos and a low-cut, form fitting dress, walk past, paying special attention to her, ahem, assets. Her perfect, round ass swayed back and forth as she passed. I followed her movements up until the point where I would've had to turn around to continue watching.

"Can you please stop ogling all the girls on the street, Jace? We have actual work to do." Alec gave me an extremely disapproving look before rolling his eyes. I smirked back at him.

"I'm just looking, Alec. It's not slowing down our pace." Isabelle snorted at me as I tried to defend my behavior. No one else said a word, though. I was surprised Clary had no snarky remarks to add. "Hey, Clary, it's not like you to not get the first word in on these types of subjects, especially when it comes to me," I said. Clary, though, said nothing in return, so I looked behind me to see what was wrong.

But she wasn't there. Neither was Simon.

I stopped walking and turned to where they should have been. "Son of a bitch."

"What?" Isabelle followed my movements and turned around. "Where are they?"

"I don't know, but when I find them, rat boy is in for it." I headed back the way we came with walking faster than previously.

"Why Simon?" Isabelle had to run a bit to keep up with me. Alec was close on our tails.

"Because this is no doubt his fault. If Cl-" I began, but I dropped off as I thought about Clary getting hurt. I felt my stomach drop at the thought of harm coming to her, but it was unsettling. I still didn't understand why I cared so much.

I focused on trying to figure out where Clary and Simon had gone by backtracking. We passed several small, run-down restaurants and fast food establishments and even a few clothing stores. I slowed down as we passed for just a moment to inspect the interior of each, looking for Clary's red hair. I didn't even bother to slow down or look when we came upon a sex toy shop. No way would Clary go in there. Simon might. I didn't really know rat boy that well, but I knew Clary wouldn't have followed him in there. I was fairly certain that wherever they'd gone, they'd gone together. A couple more minutes had passed. _How long ago did we lose them?_ I stopped and circled around again. Maybe they'd gone down an alley, but I couldn't see any except across the street. There were too many cars for them to have crossed the street without a crosswalk, so that was out. They had to be in a building. There was no other option. Izzy and Alec were busy scanning the street while I had focused on looking through windows.

I continued on with my search, Alec and Izzy close on my heels. "Maybe I should call Magnus and ask him to track Clary? You saw how much she meant to him. He'd probably help for no charge." Alec spoke up, trying to think of a solution. I turned to face him and saw that Izzy was giving Alec a knowing look. Alec, in turn, appeared embarrassed, and he shrugged.

I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. "Let's look for a few more minutes, and if we don't find either of them you can-" Suddenly a window crashed through right behind me. I swung around reaching for my seraph blade, realizing I still had Clary's sword. _Fuck. She better be okay._ A few people screamed in surprise but hurried along, not wanting to get involved. I looked down at the werewolf who had been thrown through the window. "What's going on?"

The werewolf whipped up to look at me while quickly pouncing to his feet. "Thank God. They sent for backup."

"What are you talking about?" Izzy stepped forward. I noticed her whip had found its way into her hand.

Before he even replied, I knew Clary and Simon were here because I realized he had said ' _they_ sent for backup.' We were Shadowhunters, so only other Shadowhunters could be here. As far as I knew, we were the only ones in the vicinity. I mentally said every expletive I knew.

The werewolf pointed inside, saying, "Demons just showed up and started to attack us."

Isabelle began to ask some more questions, but I cut her off. "We can figure out all that later. Right now, we need to deal with this." I jumped through the open window and took note on what was going on.

There were about 7 Raum demons attacking various Downworlders while they managed to keep them at bay. They weren't however having much success in killing the demons, just preventing the demons from killing them. My eyes moved across the room, and I found Clary's small form at the same moment a Raum demon abandoned its previous faerie opponent and leapt at Clary's back. She slammed into a table in front of her from the momentum, and she tried to reach behind her to pull the Raum forward; however, the Raum quickly flung its tentacles forward, pinning her arms to the table I heard her scream as the poisonous teeth of the tentacles pierced her arms, and she thrust her body back, trying to dislodge the demon.

I immediately began to rush towards her, whispering _Dumah_ to awaken my blade. I hacked through the crowd, throwing a quick stab at the demons I passed in a hope to help the werewolves, warlocks and faeries get the upper hand in their battle. I'd help more later, but first, I had to get to Clary. I heard her scream again as another of the Raum's tentacles wrapped around her waist. Where the hell was Simon? He's her parabatai. He should be here to help, but there was no sign of him. I focused back on making my way to Clary. The Raum demon seemed to be trying to pull her arms away from her as if to rip them off. It was then I noticed most of her gear was pretty torn up. Whatever had happened before this moment had been pretty bad, yet she had still managed to stay fighting _without her sword_. I was momentarily impressed. Finally, I reached her and slammed my blade into its back, slashing down. The demon screamed but let go and stumbled back before disappearing to its original realm.

I dropped my blade on the seat next to the table and reached to pull Clary up. She was still lying across the table, breathing hard. I couldn't tell if she was unconscious yet, but if not, she would be soon, thanks to the amount of poison that demon sent into her body. I lifted her body into my arms. She didn't resist and laid limply in my arms. Definitely unconscious, then. I needed to get her out of here before doing anything else, so I grabbed my blade again while still holding Clary close. I moved towards the open window. Alec stood just outside, shooting arrows in at the demons. Upon seeing me with Clary, he began covering me while I ran outside and gently placed her down behind Alec.

"Call Magnus." I ordered and turned around to help Izzy and the Downworlders finish off the Raum demons. I was now extremely pissed because of what the demon did to Clary, so I was taking no prisoners.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

 **Jace's POV**

I grabbed the arm of a young, female werewolf and hauled her to her feet. It hadn't taken long to get rid of the rest of the Raum demons. Currently, I was helping to gather the wounded and lay them onto tables where their doctors were taking care of them. After I had stabbed the last demon, Alec had found me and told me he was taking Clary to Magnus' apartment. Isabelle and I stayed behind to help out and find Simon since we would've been no help to Magnus and Clary had we gone.

I still couldn't figure out where Clary's parabatai had disappeared to. If he wasn't dead already, I was going to murder him. It was his fault that Clary had gotten hurt. I lifted another wounded faerie up and set her down on an open table.

"Thank you," she croaked and grasped my hand as I made to move away. I nodded politely and continued my search.

Isabelle came up behind me. "Anything?"

I shook my head. "No. Nothing. Not even his body."

"Way to be morbid, Jace."

Angrily, I threw a piece of chair at the wall. "What do you want me to say? He left his parabatai alone, and she was almost killed."

Isabelle gave me a pointed look. "That's not why you're upset. You're always going off without Alec. You're mad not because Simon left his parabatai and she almost died. You're mad because Simon left _Clary_ , and _Clary_ almost died."

I stopped lifting rubble off of a dead werewolf, and whirled around to face her. "I don't know what you mean. He shouldn't have left his parabatai alone in battle. Period." I looked around for somewhere else to look. "Now, if you'll keep looking out here, I'm going to look for Simon in the kitchen."

Isabelle huffed and looked annoyed but let me go. Before, I entered the kitchen Isabelle yelled, "You know it wouldn't kill you to admit that you actually like Clary. It's okay to only want one girl for more than her body."

I dutifully ignored her except her words bounced around in my head.

 _No, Iz, it very well could kill me._

 **Simon's POV**

My head hurt. A lot. What had happened? I brought myself to a sitting position, but my vision had black spots, signifying I was about to pass out. I laid back down and closed my eyes. I listened closely to my surroundings, checking to see if there was danger nearby. Deeming it safe, I tried to remember what happened.

I had been walking with Clary, the Lightwoods, and that cocky ass Jace down a New York City street. We had been on a demon hunting mission. Then we had passed Taki's, and I was hungry.

 _Ah, Taki's. Everything changed when the Raum demons attacked._

Just kidding. The Raum demons had already been attacking the Downworlders in Taki's when I entered. Clary had followed me in, and we had immediately went to work. Then this guy had grabbed Clary-

My thoughts were interrupted when I was suddenly hauled off the floor. I flailed wildly trying to figure out what to do and what was going on when the person who grabbed me pushed me against a wall.

"How is it," Jace spat in my face. Boy was he angry. I wanted to laugh at the way his face contorted. Desperately, I suppressed it as Jace continued, "that you're fine, in fact, you're having a nap while Raum demons snack on you're parabatai. What the fuck happened? Where were you? I should slash that parabatai rune right off your body." He lifted my body away from the wall and slammed me back into it, jostling my head.

 _Clary._

Recognizing what Jace had said, I reached up towards my parabatai rune instinctively. If she was dead, I would know, right. After a few minutes, I sensed nothing wrong, so I addressed Jace.

I tapped on his hands which held fistfuls of my shirt. "If you'd please let me down, Sunshine, I would be more than happy to tell you what happened. Perhaps you could also let me know where Clary is, seeing as your so concerned for her well-being," I said in my best mockery of a cheery voice and flashed him a wide smile that made me close my eyes, but not before I saw a flicker of annoyance and worry cross his face as I mentioned Clary. No doubt the annoyance was directed towards me. He reluctantly set me down, and I made a show of brushing off my clothes even though there was no dirt there. Jace scowled.

"Okay. First thing's first. Where's Clary?"

He narrowed his eyes. "Alec took her to Magnus after I barely managed to save her from a Raum."

"How bad is it?"

Jace scowled again, and I was slightly annoyed that even then he looked good. "She'll live, no thanks to you."

My worry for her only increased with his answer. I had no idea how badly she was injured, and right now, I just wanted to be by her side. I didn't think Jace would let me go to her until I told him what he wanted to know, though.

I sighed. "When we first got here, it wasn't only Raum demons attacking Downworlders. Exiled Shadowhunters, former Circle members, were here as well."

Jace's eyebrows creased. "What do you mean? I saw no Circle members."

"That would be because they left. After Clary and I joined the fray, I saw a couple of Circle members gunning for her." Jace opened his mouth. "Before, you ask, I don't know why they were. I would assume it's because she's a Morgenstern."

Jace closed his mouth, and looked like he was mulling over this information. "What happened next?"

"I," I placed my hand on my chest, dramatically. "I, like the excellent parabatai I am," That earned me a sharp look from Jace. "Intercepted the Circle members and fought them. Our fight brought us in here. A portal randomly opened, and they couldn't get out of here fast enough. Something must've scared them off. Before one of them left, he slammed my head into the counter, so what you said before was not true. I actually have a concussion."

Jace shook his head. "You're a pathetic excuse for a Shadowhunter, and I'll never understand why Clary picked you; however, the next time you leave Clary alone in a battle even if you're dead or wounded, you will have to answer to me. You're also going to have to explain the Circle members to the Clave."

"I know that. I am a Shadowhunter." Jace snorted skeptically in response to this.. "Also, I had no idea you liked Clary that much." I waggled my eyebrows at him.

He pursed his lips but said nothing. "C'mon. Let's go make sure Clary's okay, ratboy."

"Nooooo, you don't even know that story. Not fair," I stated. However, he was already gone, so I raced to catch up to him.

 **Clary's POV**

I slowly came to consciousness but my eyes wouldn't open. My body was sore. Man, Jace really did a number on me. I was uncomfortable on my back, so I rolled over onto my front….and landed on the floor.

My eyes flew open. Looking up, I noticed I had fallen off of a familiar couch. There was a meow by my ear, and I realized I was at Magnus'. I pulled myself into a sitting position despite my protesting limbs. I subconsciously stroked Chairman Meow's head eliciting a purr from him while I tried to remember how I got here. The only thing was that I couldn't. I must've passed out.

Magnus burst into the room, tying the sash to his robe as he entered. "Clary! Are you alright, darling? I heard a crash."

"Yeah." I took his outstretched hand, and he guided me to sit back on the couch. "I rolled off the couch."

"Well, why would you do that?" I gave him a look that told him I wasn't in the mood, and he mumbled, "Sorry." He cleared his throat. "You're awake much earlier than expected. I managed to get the poison out, but you'll be sore for a few days. Take it easy, biscuit. The rest of your friends should be here soon."

"The rest?" I took in his appearance. His hair was ruffled, and his purple, silk robe was all he was wearing. "Magnus… who is in your bedroom?"

Magnus opened his mouth to say something when Alec came stumbling out of Magnus' room. He finished pulling his shirt over his head. He stopped short when he realized that I was awake. "Um, Jace- He just- Fire- Coming."

Magnus chuckled and added to Alec's embarrassment by saying, "No, Alexander you weren't quite there yet when Clary here fell off the couch." He patted my head like a dog, and Alec turned bright red. His mouth gaped like a fish's. "Alexander, calm down. I was only teasing." He turned to me. "Clary, we were only discussing your recovery while I checked Alexander's wounds. There was nothing inappropriate going on in there." He jerked his head towards his bedroom door and smiled. Alec looked down at his feet. "Now, Alexander, what was it you were trying to say?"

Not looking up, Alec mumbled, "Jace sent a fire message saying they were on their way."

"Well, I better get dressed then. We wouldn't want them to get the wrong idea." Magnus winked at Alec who all but fainted into the armchair behind him.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

 **Clary's POV**

The elevator opened up to the main floor of the institute. After Jace and the others had arrived at Magnus', we set off to have lunch with my family as Jace had promised. Before stepping out of elevator, I snuck a glance at Jace again. He hadn't said anything except "Let's go" since we left Magnus' apartment. He seemed upset, but I couldn't get him to meet my gaze. Jace looked straight forward as he inspected the interior of the New York Institute. Sighing, I walked in and hung up my coat on the rack. Simon followed suit and kicked off his boots. The Lightwoods and Jace stood rather uncomfortable just outside the elevator doors.

Over my shoulder, I said, "Make yourself comfortable." I began walking towards the kitchen, noticing the differences that had taken place in the last week. The living room couch was gone for some reason. In its place was a set of drums. The mirror on the wall was shattered, and most of the pieces had fallen onto the ground beneath it. "Si?" A panic began to rise up in me. My mom was notoriously messy, but Luke would have cleaned this mess up the moment it happened.

Simon came up behind me. "What?" His eyes moved from my concerned face to the mirror and the pieces on the ground. I was subconsciously aware that Isabelle, Alec, and Jace had come up to inspect the damage as well. Simon's hands came up to my shoulders. "Clary, I'm sure that-"

I quickly cut him off. "Mom? Luke?" I moved away from Simon's hold and made my way further into the institute. Rounding a corner, I ran into a familiar body. Taking in the familiar scent and body as he pressed me to him, I sagged in relief. "Jon-"

My brother pushed me away from him while he inspected me. When I asked what he was doing, he blew up. "What do you think you were doing, leaving the Academy without telling me? Not only that, but you left on a demon-hunting mission! And with Jace Herondale? If you wanted to get laid, you could have chosen to spend your time with someone with more class."

I stepped away from my brother as he said the harsh, untrue words. I knew he was just upset, but that didn't give him the right to talk to me like that under any circumstances. "Well, fuck you, too Jon. How did you even find out about it?"

"Mom called. She asked if I was joining you all for lunch because you hadn't mentioned me in your fire message. Then she got a fire message from Magnus saying you were hurt because of that fucker." His words still dripped venom.

I placed my hands on my hips and opened my mouth to yell at him again when Jace rounded the corner. "Clary?"

What happened next occurred so fast, I didn't have time to register it. Jonathan no longer stood in front of me, so I turned to where I had felt him move towards to find him pressed against the wall by Jace. "What the hell?"

"Clary, what did I say about ladies cussing?" Jace's tone held none of the humor that it should have.

Jonathan struggled against Jace's grip as he spat in Jace's face. "I told you to stay away from my sister. You didn't and look what happened. She got hurt. I swear I will tear you limb from limb for letting her almost _die._ "

Jace paled and ground out, "I would never, _never,_ let Clary get so much as get a paper cut on my watch. Clary and Simon disappeared, and for 5 minutes I didn't know what had happened or where she was. I should've kept a closer eye on her, but don't you dare blame me for what happened. I was going out of my mind until I saw her safe in Magnus' apartment. When I saw her in the clutches of that Raum demon, I was terrified that I wouldn't get to her in time!" Jace shoved Jonathan against the wall again then dropped him.

Jonathan stood speechless as did I. I was about to say something when my mom came gliding in.

"Clary, sweetheart, I'm so glad you're okay. What happened?" She pulled me into a hug. I hugged her back and held her close. I had missed her so much.

"Mommy," I murmured into her shoulder. The day had begun to weigh on me, and after Jace's outburst, I just wanted to crawl into bed. My mom stroked my hair, and I didn't let go for a couple more seconds. "We went on a demon hunt. Simon and I separated from the group, found the demons, and were outnumbered. I wasn't watching my six. I should have, though, but I'm okay. Promise."

Stroking my face, my mom said, "I'm glad." She moved her gaze away from me to where the others had gathered behind me.

"Mom, this is Jace Herondale and Alec and Isabelle Lightwood." I gestured to the newcomers. "Simon you already know, of course."

My mom narrowed her eyes when she looked at Jace, but she still plastered a smile on her face. Whatever she saw (or maybe heard earlier) she didn't like. I made a mental note to ask her about it the next time we talked privately. "Simon, how are you?" She moved towards Simon and pulled him into a sweet but brief hug.

"I'm good, Jocelyn. How are you? Where is Luke, James, and Evie?"

As he asked, James tore into the room. "Clare!" James was the only one who called me Clare and Evie, Eve. He was currently going through a phase where he refused to make the "e" sound at the end of a person's name. Luckily, it seemed to only be mine and Evie's names he had to alter. He wrapped his tiny arms around my waist.

"Hey! How have you been? I've missed you so much, bud. I'm guessing the drums in the living room are yours?"

He nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah, Jordan's teaching me."

"That's so cool. Will you play for me before I leave?" I smoothed down his hair as he agreed shyly.

He looked behind me and asked, "Who are you're friends? You're not replacing us are you?"

I chuckled as I shook my head, and my mom interrupted. "Lunch is ready, so why don't we all go eat and then everyone can get to know each other."

James didn't need any more coaxing. He grabbed my hand and pulled me towards the dining room, the only room big enough for all of us. Everyone followed as James led the way.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

 **Clary's POV**

I elbowed Jon, who sat to my right, in the side. He looked up from where he had been staring at his plate and shuffling his food around. He raised his eyebrows in a silent question. "Stop being so salty," I whispered. "I know you're upset about what happened earlier, but everything is okay. And I promise to tell you before I leave next time."

Instead of saying anything he simply looked blankly at me for a few minutes. I ducked my head a little bit and pursed my lips looking for a response. Jon sighed and turned away from me. I followed his gaze to where Jace was sitting and talking with Luke and Alec. "Not everything is okay, little sister."

I opened my mouth to ask what he meant. I was going to ask what was so wrong and what I could do to fix it. I didn't get the chance, though, because Jace had started to call my name to get my attention. I looked towards him and back at Jon, who had resumed staring at his plate. Oh, boy.

"What Jace?" The words came out with more venom than I had originally intended.

Jace didn't seem at all affected by my tone. "Why didn't you tell your parents about Sword Masters?"

I shook my head, trying to understand what exactly he was talking about. "What? They know I'm taking Sword Masters."

"Yes, but you didn't tell us you were third in your class." Luke gave me a pointed look over his glasses.

I shrugged and mumbled something akin to "So? I didn't think it was necessary."

"I bet she also didn't tell you that I was number one, and she has the honor of calling me an _acquaintance."_ He emphasized 'acquaintance," no doubt because of our earlier conversation of us not being friends.

I shot Jace a glare that would make Simon or Jon leave the room if I gave it to them. Jace just sat there calmly and raised an eyebrow, challenging me. "I'm sorry, Mom, Luke, but would you excuse my _acquaintance_ and I for a few minutes. I just remembered that I needed to discuss Advanced Grey Book Studies with him for a moment."

Luke waved us away. Jace frowned, but stood up saying, "Excuse us."

My mom asked, "Oh, is he in that class with you as well?"

"Unfortunately." I pushed Jace towards the door that led to the kitchen before he could say anything else.

I moved around Jace once in the kitchen. "What-" I cut him off as I grabbed his arm and pulled him through the kitchen and into the hallway beyond. The stairs that led upstairs was just to our left and coiled up. I could see the various landings that led to other floors and the greenhouse at the top.

"Taking me to your bedroom, is that it?" Jace smirked. It was starting to become his signature look.

I scowled and let go of his arm. "No, Luke would be able to hear us if we were in the kitchen."

"Right, okay. What did you want to talk about?" He leaned against the wall and crossed his arms in a cocky manner.

"A couple of things, actually. One: don't tell my parents about my classes. They don't know I teach and my class ranking because it would freak my mom out. She doesn't really like that we're part of the Shadowhunter world, thanks to everything that happened with my father. She wanted me to learn how to fight, but that doesn't mean she likes to know how much of a natural I am."

"That's just stupid."

"If you knew everything, you wouldn't be saying that." I looked at him solemnly and his smirk disappeared. Before he could ask, I moved on to my second point. "Two: what the hell was that back there with John? Is that why you were so quiet on our way here?"

Jace ran his hands through his hair and sighed. "If I asked you to just let it go, would you?"

"I think the fact that we're having this conversation proves that I won't." I crossed my arms.

Jace moved to sit on the stairs and he gestured for me to sit next to him. I contemplated not sitting but sat down anyway. Leaning his elbows on his knees and clasping his hands, Jace let out a shaky breath.

"You heard what I said to your brother. I wasn't lying, okay? It scared me when you and Simon disappeared. When I realized I had your sword still, I became more worried and frantic to find you. And when I found you and that Raum demon had you pinned to the table, all I could think about was getting to you in time. Even after, I was worried that I hadn't gotten there in time to save you. Alec had taken you to Magnus, but we hadn't heard anything. I kept wondering what I would do if I found out that you were-" He cleared his throat. "But then you were okay and I- I then realized that I had never felt that kind of panic before. I don't know what you're doing to me, Clary."

I was speechless. I knew Jace well enough that this wasn't some ploy to get into my pants. He was being genuine for once in his life. His confession had me wondering what I should do. I mean, what could I possibly say? I knew he was being genuine, but I only really knew his cocky, sarcastic side. I really didn't know how to handle serious Jace.

So instead, I stood up and began to climb the stairs. Jace turned around to watch me. "Where are you going?"

"C'mon, I know something that will make you feel better." I began to run up the steps heading for the too familiar landing.

I didn't look behind me, but I could hear Jace following me effortlessly. "Look, Clary, I know you want to make me feel better and all, and I really appreciate the effort. However, you did say you had absolutely no interest in sleeping with me, and, well, I just wouldn't feel right about the whole thing if it's not something you really wanted to do. Then again, I'm something everyone wants to do."

I stopped my ascent on the stairs and turned to look at him. "Oh, by the Angel. Get _over_ yourself. I'm not taking you upstairs to have sex with you. I'd personally don't want my first time to be with someone who's so into himself. You probably only ever worry about your needs and not your partner's." I rolled my eyes.

"I happen to be very good in bed. All the girls say so, and those that can't speak afterwards, well, I think that just says something for them." Jace smirked again and leaned towards my ear. "My offer still stands. Anytime you want to see what you're missing out on, I'll be there."

I turned my head so my mouth was just barely touching his ear. He took a sharp intake of breath and I could feel hear his heart speed up just a bit. "No, thanks. I'm sure those girls are lying to protect your delicate ego," I whispered. I quickly turned around and headed up the stairs, not bothering to look behind me at a stupefied Jace.

"You can't just leave a guy hanging like that!"

"I think I just did. Now, c'mon! There's a beautiful grand piano in the library."

Jace didn't say anything else, but I heard him run to catch up to me.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

 **Clary's POV**

It had been three weeks since our New York trip. Three weeks since I was almost killed by a Raum demon. Three weeks since Jace confessed that there were at least protective feelings of me. Three weeks since our time spent in front of the piano…

It had been three weeks, and Jace and I had barely said more than a few sentences to each other.

We saw each other in Sword Masters and Grey Book Studies, but everything was strictly professional. There was no jabbing or quick, witty remarks. After returning to the Academy, our families stopped eating together. Simon and I stayed with Jon. Alec and Isabelle with Jace. We were trying not to put them together since they seemed to hate each other, but all it really did was separate us. Something changed between us all after that day. I can't be sure, but I think most of it had to do with Jace's reaction to my getting hurt. I know that's what it was for Jon and even for me. Simon stuck with me because I was his best friend. He wasn't getting very far with Isabelle anyway. Every once in a while Isabelle would come hang out with Aline and Helen in my dorm or the other way around, but that was about as far as our interactions went.

"Sooooo," Simon started. I glanced up from where I was pushing my pasta around in my bowl. Jon didn't stop studying some map he had in front of him. He and I hadn't talked much the past three weeks either. I was still frustrated with his behavior, and I know he was still shaken up with almost losing me. I was basically the only person in his corner no matter what, and I knew he would go down the wrong path without my support.

I encouraged Simon to go on. "What, Si?" I dragged my gaze from my brother to my best friend's familiar face. Today he wore a shirt that said "Always be yourself! Unless you can be Batman then be Batman." His glasses had slid down to the tip of his nose, and he looked over them at me.

"I don't know!" He threw his hands up in the air and sent his glasses to the table. "We never have any conversations anymore! What are we? 80 with dementia, drooling over our food with no teeth?!" My eyes widened at his outburst. I know we had been off for the past couple weeks, but I didn't realize Simon was having such an issue with it. "Why don't we just go over there and sit with the Lightwoods again. Why can't we just be friends?"

"No." Jonathon finally looked up from his map. "It's better this way. Trust me." He glanced at me then back at his map.

Not saying anything, I looked over to where Alec, Isabelle and Jace sat by the windows to find Jace already looking at me. We made eye contact, but nothing seemed to pass between us. After a moment, I looked away first, trying to ignore the freefalling sensation in my stomach. "I'm going to go study. I have a test in Sword Masters that I have to prepare for."

"Don't you need to train for that?" Simon looked frustrated at my lack of response but didn't comment.

"Fine. I'll go study for my Demon Realms class. Maybe I'll even call Magnus." As I walked away, I thought about Jace at that piano.

 _Jace's fingers flew across the keys as he played a piece composed by Beethoven by heart. His face was clear of any lines or signs of stress. It was more innocent than when he was just trying to hide his emotions, but I wondered if anyone else could tell the difference. There was something almost childlike about him when he played the piano. Falling over his face, his hair shimmered like pure gold. I had the compulsion to push it out of his face the way a mother might her child or a woman her lover. His eyes seemed lit up but focused solely on the keys as if he saw nothing else around him._

" _How did you know I played piano?" Jace's silky voice broke my concentration in studying his features from where I stood off to the side of the instrument._

 _My voice came out barely above a whisper as if I subconsciously didn't want to disturb the music, as if the notes would be offended by my mediocre voice in comparison to their magnificence and stop playing. "Isabelle said something at dinner the other night."_

" _Oh?" He raised an eyebrow, but didn't look up. "And how did you know I_ liked _playing?"_

" _The way you responded." Jace stopped playing then and gave me his full attention._

" _Which was?"_

" _What?" Again I was struck by just how beautiful a man he was._

" _How did I respond that told you I liked to play?"_

 _Realizing what he meant, I said, "You spoke about the piano the way one might speak about a lover. And not a lover for a night, but a_ true _lover. Someone who steals your breath away and makes you nervous to be around even though you know them better than anyone. Someone who's your best friend and most trusted confidant and the person who you make love to. It's the way I once talked about the piano."_

" _You play?"_

 _I sighed and gazed longingly at the shiny black top. "I used to. It used to be a way for me to get away from things, but I stopped."_

" _Why?"_

 _I shrugged. "I don't know," I whispered. "Sometimes I miss it, but then I remember that between training and school and missions and painting there really isn't room for me to play in my life."_

 _Jace nodded as if he understood, but I knew he didn't. Not really. "Clary-"_

" _Hmm?"_

 _For the first time in the week that I had known him, he looked nervous. "I- I was wondering if…" He trailed off unable to finish. "Nevermind." Suddenly the mask was back in place and standing up, Jace rubbed his hand through his hair._

" _What?"_

" _Just forget it."_

 _I shoved his shoulder. "What? You can't start something and not finish it." I smiled at him, trying to bring out the sensitive Jace I had seen earlier._

" _No." He spoke coldly. There was the sound of black Shadowhunter boots stomping against the wood floor as Jace made an exit. I stood there wondering what exactly had just happened and where the Jace that was my friend had disappeared to._

I shook my head as I reached my door, attempting to rid myself of the thoughts of Jace. I had foolishly thought for a split moment that he was going to ask me out. Based on his criticism of Sebastian's tact it seemed like the kind of setting where he would. I pushed down my disappointment when I realized that I had thought that because I had _wanted_ him to ask me. I had wanted him to tell me that the way he spoke about the piano was the way he wanted me to talk about him or him to talk about me or something.

I grew fearful as I became more aware of the feelings I had grown for the cocky/sensitive, man-whore/god that I was disgusted/in awe (in love?) with. I didn't know when his charms had started to win me over that first week, but they had. I reminded myself that he was Jace, the boy who slept with girls to get off and nothing more. I reminded myself that I was Clary, a girl who needed more.

I reminded myself that I was better off staying away from him. I tried to convince myself of it.

And you know what? I never really could.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

 **Clary's POV**

It had been one week since Simon's outburst, and he had stopped eating with Jon and I. Now he sat with a group of nerdy looking Shadowhunters that I recognized from one of his classes. I was currently sitting on my bed staring at a blank piece of paper when there was a knock on my door. I quickly shoved my materials off of my lap and jumped off my bed. I had never been so glad for a distraction. I couldn't seem to find the motivation to begin my Demon Realms project. It was just _so_ boring. Thinking it would be Jon or Simon, I pulled open the door without looking through the peephole.

"Man, am I glad to see- you?"

Alec stood with his eyes directed towards his shoes in embarrassment. He had on a fitted long-sleeved brown shirt and dark blue jeans that were faded at the knees. Subconsciously, he pulled at a hole in the bottom of his right sleeve. His hair looked disheveled, and there were dark circles under his eyes. "Hey. Sorry for the intrusion." If the lines in his face and his eyes hadn't already told me he was tired, his voice would of. It had a groggy aspect to it, but I suspected he hadn't slept in a while.

"Alec? What's wrong?"

"As you may have noticed Jace has not been in any of his classes this week. He appears to have caught the flu and, unfortunately for me, hasn't left his bed."

I had, in fact, noticed that Jace hadn't been in class. His presence is rather large, and it would've been hard to not notice the extra space the absence of his enormous ego left. I figured the Clave had sent him on some demon-hunting mission. I guess I was wrong. I just couldn't see Jace sick. He was too meticulous. His clothes never seemed to have a wrinkle in them. His boots were always polished. I even watched him file his nails with his stele once. I shook my head and focused back on Alec. Leaning against the door frame I prodded him to continue. "Okaayy?"

"You're his teacher for Grey Book Studies right? And you're in his Sword Masters class?"

"Oh. Yeah. You want homework." I pushed away from the door. "I'll write up some instructions. Come on in." He followed me inside, pausing to close the door silently. "Are you doing okay? You look kinda tired, Alec."

He scrubbed his face with both hands. "I've been trying to take care of him. For the best Shadowhunter I know, he can be a real baby. On top of that I've been constantly cleaning the room and taking showers, so I don't get sick."

"If you don't get some sleep, you're going to get sick anyway." I looked at him pointedly. His response was a nonverbal shrug, so I continued with a sigh. "Why don't you stay here until he gets better."

"Here?"

"Yeah. Helen stays with Aline most nights, and I can go drop off this stuff with Jace and check up on him. Tomorrow's Saturday so I don't have to get up early or anything. You should take a break. It's been what? Four days?" I thought back. Yes. Monday, Jace was in class. "I'll check up on him, but he's a big boy. He can suck it up and take care of himself."

Alec chuckled a bit and gave me a small smile. "You would think. Thanks, Clary. I might take you up on a small nap, anyway. I wouldn't feel right leaving him alone all night, but he was asleep when I left so…" He trailed off as I watched him fall asleep sitting on my bed against the wall. Rolling my eyes I sent a fire message to Brooklyn and wrote a note to Alec telling him I would go give Jace his work.

I pulled the keys I had swiped from Alec's pocket out once I had reached the door to their room. I gave a quiet knock (it wasn't my room after all) and unlocked the door. I entered silently to find Jace leaning halfway out of bed trying to reach a tissue box. Quickly I scooped up the box and shoved it into Jace's lap as I pulled him back into bed.

"What- get off me, woman." I could hear his congestion in his voice. While his words would be what normal, cocky Jace would have said, there was none of the spunk behind it. Instead it was breathy and exhausted.

I looked him over. The circles under his eyes were a deep purple, worse than Alec's. His eyelids drooped, and his hair was limp and greasy. "Wow. You look awful."

"You really know how to woo a man, sugar. Now, go." He lifted his arm towards the door. I imagined it was him dismissing me, but I wasn't going that easily.

I grabbed his pillow out from under him and took off the pillowcase. "The same way you know how to woo a woman, I'd imagine." That comment received a glare from under droopy eyelids. "Now, can you get up or am I going to have to roll you in order to change your sheets? They're filthy."

Jace looked absolutely horrified. "Nothing I own is filthy!" I paused, ready to make a remark that, in fact, many parts of him were filthy, but I restrained. I didn't say anything, rather, but just looked at him in wait. His shoulders sagged as he admitted defeat and sat up slowly. "I'll get up," he grumbled as if he were an unhappy five-year-old. Man, Alec wasn't kidding when he said Jace acted like a baby.

I waited as Jace plopped down in front of a desk that had nothing on it save for a weapons belt spread neatly across the top. As fast as I could, I removed his sheets and replaced them with ones I'd found in a closet. "Those are Alec's." Jace complained from behind me.

"I'll wash them for him when you're better, okay? Unless you'd rather sleep on dirty or no sheets?" I raised my eyebrows at him.

Jace quickly shook his head. "No. That's fine." He moved to get up and back into bed. He sighed and groaned as he laid back down. "I feel nauseous." He said the statement under his breath, leading me to believe he didn't want me to hear it. I could ignore it or-

"When was the last time you ate, Jace?"

Jace groggily rolled his eyes to look at me. "Doan wanna eat."

I took a step closer, and it wasn't lost on me that Jace watched my every move. What did he think? I would stab him in his weakened state? My brother would say it's not a bad idea. But I wasn't my brother. I leaned closer to him. "You have to eat. It might even help with the nauseous thing."

A look of resignation crossed his face. "Fine, but you have to get it for me," he croaked.

A half hour later I had set up my laptop in front of Jace with a movie playing. I had called Simon asking him to pick up some food for both Jace and I, and a knock on the door signified that he was here. I got up to go to the door, and Jace asked, "Want me to pause it?" I shook my head, glad he was enjoying the movie he had put up so much fuss with. As he put it, 'Only mundanes watch movies.'

"Hey, Si." I opened the door with a small smile only to lose it a second later. Not only did Simon stand there, but my brother did as well.

Simon, unfazed simply handed me the bag of food. "So why did you need me to go get this a deliver it to you on a guy's floor. Hmm?" He waggled his eyebrows at me.

I snuck a glance at my brother who had his eyebrows raised, waiting for an answer. "Well, uh, a friend is sick, and I'm taking care of him. You guys would be the first to know if I had a boyfriend, okay?" Jon nodded, but didn't look satisfied while Simon just trusted what I said. "I'll see you guys later," I said cautiously and shut the door.

I handed Jace a cup of soup while I sat back down to eat my sandwich. "So why doesn't she just leave?"

"Because she made a deal that she would stay to free her father." I rolled my eyes.

"I just don't get it." I rolled my eyes again. It was probably because he grew up in Alicante where mundane pop culture wasn't exactly followed.

We watched the movie for another twenty minutes. At times I got bored and looked around the room. It wasn't much different than mine except smaller. Jace's side was practically bear. There were no pictures or decorations. There was his bed which had white sheets and comforter, a desk with only his weapon's belt, and a dresser in his closet. All of these were provided by the Academy. His clothes were few from what I could see. He had a few shirts and his Shadowhunter gear hanging. The only shoes were his boots. I imagined he had other things like t-shirts and underwear (hopefully) in the dresser, but I couldn't be sure and wasn't going to snoop. The shelving on his sides held more weapons for the most part. The only glimpse I got of Jace that had nothing to do with being a warrior were his books. There weren't many, but I could tell they meant something; otherwise, they wouldn't be here. I made a mental note to go figure out what books they were exactly later.

Alec's side was neat but still appeared messy in comparison to Jace's. There were more clothes in the closet with some spilling from the dresser. His bed was unmade and had dark navy blue sheets. On his desk were papers strewn about along with a copy of the Codex. The shelves were the most interesting though. It held some books like Jace, but they looked practical like textbooks. However, there were pictures everywhere. I could see shots of only Isabelle, Jace, and another younger version of Alec (another brother?). There were shots of his whole family or what I assumed was his family, ones of him and Jace, him and Isabelle, Isabelle and Jace. I could tell some were rare with them looking silly or smiling widely while others looked very stiff and posed. I made a mental note to check those out in greater detail too.

When it started to get dark, I glanced over at Jace. It appeared that he had fallen asleep, so I grabbed the laptop and shut it. When I put it down on the desk, Jace called for me.

"Clary?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't go anywhere, okay?"

"Sure, Jace." He drifted back off to sleep, and I walked over to Alec's bed to sleep myself.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

 **Clary's POV**

As I slowly became aware of myself the next morning, I groaned and rolled over, wishing for more sleep. The pillowcase was soft beneath my cheek, but the pillow was lumpier than it had been yesterday morning. I punched the pillow in an attempt to soften it and groaned again.

"Now that's about the only thing I like to hear out of your mouth."

My eyes shot open at the sound of Jace's voice. I was face to face with… Isabelle, or at least a picture of her. My memory came rushing back to me. I was in Jace and Alec's room because I had spent the night taking care of a sick Jace. Quickly, I jumped over off the bed and onto my feet. Jace stood dressed in a dark blue t-shirt that hugged his body perfectly in all the right places. His feet were bare underneath jeans. I was very conscious of my wrinkled clothes from yesterday when he looked me up and down.

"You stayed the night." Jace cocked his head to the right, waiting for an answer to the non-question.

I straightened and cleared my throat. "Yeah." I shrugged. "Well, you asked me to, so I did." I shrugged again and looked down. I don't know if it was because I had just woken up or that Jace was with me when I woke up, but I was extremely nervous suddenly.

A warm finger was placed underneath my chin. It gently pushed until I lifted my head to meet Jace's eyes. He had crossed the room to stand only a few inches from me. He took a deep breath while glancing down. After looking back up, he started, "Thank you for staying. I'm not- I hate being sick, and it meant a lot to me that you stayed and took care of me." He chuckled. "Alec doesn't have the best bedside manner." He dropped the hand that was under my chin and scratched the back of his head with the other.

When he didn't say anything else, I said, "Well, it was kind of nice to see you vulnerable for once. It was a good look for you. I mean you do the sarcastic, cocky thing amazingly well…" I paused. "Maybe too well actually but you're kinda, ya know, cute or- or – or attractive or whatever when you need to be taken care of." I stuttered.

A small smile crossed Jace's face. "You're quite cute when you're nervous, Clary." He had this strange look in his eyes that lasted only a second before he shook his head, "But anyway, I feel loads better, so thank you."

"You're welcome."

We stood in an awkward silence for what felt like forever. "I should get going. You know, I need to change and do some… stuff." I started for the door.

"Wait!" I turned and met Jace's eyes.

He hesitated for a brief moment before crossing the room to me in two steps. "Jace, what's wro-" I stopped short when he brought his hands to the sides of my face.

"What's wrong is I'm going to seriously regret this later." I furrowed my brows at him. "But right now, I just want to do this. I don't care enough to stop myself."

He slammed his lips to mine. My eyes widened in surprise then slowly slid shut as I focused on the sensation of his lips on mine. They were soft like he put on chap stick frequently, and he pushed against my own lips with just the right amount of pressure. I leaned into him subconsciously bringing my hands up to lay my palms flat against his chest. I flexed my fingers lightly and felt his pectorals flex back in response. Kissing him felt so good, so right. Every feeling I had had about Jace the past few weeks came flooding to the forefront of my mind. There was no denying it now. I found him sexy as hell. He was cocky and sarcastic, yes, but I loved every moment of bantering with him. The few moments of weakness I had seen lead to my falling for him, and this kiss pushed me over the edge.

I was in love with Jace Herondale. I was in love with Jace Herondale, the pornstar with no class, the sick boy who needed to be taken care of, and the best warrior I had the pleasure of meeting.

And it was probably the best and worst thing that would ever happen to me.

Just as I was about to really get into it, Jace pulled away. "Wow. That was better than I could've imagined," he whispered.

"Yeah." I smiled.

"That is the best."

"What?"

He grinned wildly. "You. Smiling."

I smiled broader. "You, too." I brought his face back down to mine. He didn't resist one bit.

 **Jace's POV**

As Clary's lips touched mine again, all I could think about was how I had never wanted to commit and marry a single girl I had been with and how all I wanted was to marry this one.


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

 **Clary's POV**

Somehow we had made it onto Jace's bed with him over me. Our open mouths pressed against each other again and again. Every so often, my tongue would try to battle his for dominance before giving up in pleasure. Jace pulled away causing me to make a noise showing my disappointment. He chuckled and pressed his lips, closed this time against the corner of my mouth… then my cheek… then my jaw… and continued down my neck. I could only feel the sensation of his lips and teeth as his kissed and nipped at my neck. I couldn't hear anything, not even my panting breaths.

I wanted him back at my mouth, so I tapped my nails against the skin above the waistband of his jeans where his shirt had ridden up. His body bucked towards mine, and he pulled away from my neck to look at me and mumble, "Stop that," before moving down to my face again.

I started to giggle as his pressed his lips once more to mine. I felt him smile against my lips which made me giggle more. He pulled away and gave me a look that was one I could only describe as amazement. His eyes were wide and shining while he gave an amused smile.

"You're going to have to stop doing that, too, if you wanna do this." He nodded down at me.

I covered my mouth with my hand as my giggles turned to full laughter. "I'm sorry! I can't stop!"

He shook his head and began to laugh with me. "I really don't know what you're doing to me, Clary."

I opened my mouth to say something between my laughter when I heard the door to Jace's room open. Jace looked up from me, smiling still, and said, "Hey Alec."

Then his smile slowly faded.

I tried to maneuver myself from under Jace, so I could see what was wrong when Alec spoke. "Um, Clary, your brother came looking for you this morning, so I told him that you had come here to take care of Jace and help me out. He insisted I bring him here."

My eyes widened as I comprehended what Alec was saying. My brother was here. He had seen me making out with Jace. _Oh shit._

I brought my hands up and pushed on Jace's chest while trying to sit up. Jace let himself roll off the bed and stood up. I whipped my head around and quickly followed Jace in standing up. I briefly glanced at Jace who stood looking bored. His shoulders were slightly slumped as he inspected his fingernails on one hand. His other was in the front pocket of his jeans. As I turned back to deal with my brother, Jace said, "I don't see what's got your panties in a twist, Jonny." He raised his eyes to meet my brother's.

Jonathon stood rigidly looking as if he were about to combust. His neck was strained as was his jaw. I wasn't sure if I had ever seen him this angry before, not even when he had gotten into it with Jace in the dining hall. At least then it was Jace running his mouth off. Here Jonathon simply saw Jace putting his words into action. Of course, Jace taunting him wasn't helping in the slightest.

"Jon-"

When I tried to speak, Jonathon gave me a look that could give a demon a run for its money. "I don't want to hear a word out of you. I can't believe you actually fell for his act! I warned you about him, about what he does to girls!" There was a mixture of disappointment and rage in his voice. "And yet, you continue to spend time with him. I guess you're more stupid that I thought, Clarissa."

After he stormed off, tears began to well in my eyes. I choked back a sob. My brother had never spoken to me like that before. We had always been extremely close, and even when we didn't like what the other was doing, we supported each other. Ever since coming to the Academy, we had drifted apart. I barely saw Jonathon anymore, and when I did, he was frequently upset with me. I suddenly wished that we had never come to this place. I wished that we were still back with Mom and Luke and James and little Evie.

"Hey. I'm sorry. He'll get over it. He's your brother. I'm sure he didn't mean…" I looked up at Jace whose face was etched with concern. He reached out to me, but I stepped out of reach.

"My brother only says what he means."

"Clary-"

I wrapped my arms around myself. "I think I should go. I'll see you in class." As I moved towards the door, Alec stepped out of my way.

"Would you like me to walk you back?" Alec inquired with a quick glance in Jace's direction.

"No, thank you. My eyes may be betraying me, but my legs still work." I gave a shaky laugh. "Bye."

Jace didn't say a word as the door slammed shut behind me.

* * *

I spent the remainder of the day in my room sketching. I sketched the way Jonathon's face looked after finding me and Jace. I must've drawn him a hundred times, but I threw them all away. Normally, creating art calmed me down, but I couldn't seem to stop the pain from creeping in every time I thought about this morning.

"Are you sure you don't want to join us for dinner?" Helen had been here all day and was now going out with Aline. I got the impression that she didn't want to leave me alone because I had come home upset.

I shook my head. "No, you guys should go out and have fun. I'd just be a third wheel, anyway."

"You wouldn't-"

I cut her off. "Really. It's okay. I'll be absolutely fine. In fact, I'm thinking about asking Magnus to come over and help with that Demon Realms project." I gave her a small smile which I'm sure wasn't convincing even though I wanted it to be.

"Well, if you change your mind…" She gave me a cautious smile before heading out to meet Aline at her room.

I stood up from my desk and picked up my latest drawing. Sighing, I gave one hard, last look at my brother's face before dropping it in the trash. I grabbed another piece of paper off the shelf and scribbled a quick note before tracing the lines of the rune to send the fire message. Almost instantaneously, a reply appeared on my desk. I unfolded the small scrap and read Magnus' message:

 _On my way, darling_


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

Clary's POV

Twenty minutes later there was a knock on my door a moment before it opened and Magnus stormed in. He looked at me with exasperation and shook his head. "I swear, biscuit, if I have to argue with another Shadowhunter about my portaling in to Alicante I'm going to go rogue." I raised my eyebrows and waited for him to continue. "It's not like I can portal anywhere in the city I desire! Why, no! I have to portal into the Guard, sign myself in, and then proceed to walk to part of the city I desire! And it's raining!" He threw up his hands.

"Really?" I leaned forward on my bed to look out the window which had water droplets sliding down the outer pane. "Huh, I hadn't even noticed. I'm sorry."

"Oh, don't worry about it, but, Darling, is my eyeliner running? It's supposed to be waterproof, but mundanes don't always know how to make an effective waterproof product."

I studied his face for any imperfections. As usual, his yellow cat eyes were framed by perfect lines of eyeliner. Today he had green glitter lightly shading his eyelids. He had matched it with his hair which was styled as green-tipped spikes. Magnus wore a black, V-neck sweater, black, skinny (leather?) pants and boots. His outfit was topped off with a forest green scarf which, of course, was covered in glitter. "You look impeccable as always, Magnus"

"Why, thank you." He plopped down in my desk chair and gazed up at me. "Biscuit?"

"Yeah?" I sat cross-legged on my bed in sweats and a tank top, and my hair was left down. I had an open notebook and pen in my lap for when I asked Magnus about a demon realm.

Magnus squinted his eyes at me, raised his eyebrows, and fashioned his face into a look of sympathy. "What's wrong?" His question threw me. When a look of confusion crossed my face, he continued. "I know you, biscuit. Something is upsetting you. You wouldn't have called otherwise."

"Actually, I called because of my proje-"

"No you didn't. You may tell yourself that, and we will get to that, but you called because something happened between you and Simon?"

I shook my head.

"Your roommate?"

Another shake to which he frowned.

"If it's that blonde, pretentious f-"

I groaned. "Nothing happened between me and Jace." I frowned. "At least not that would upset me."

Magnus perked up. "Ooh, intrigue. We'll get to that later, but who is the problem?"

"Jon."

"What? No! You two never fight to the point where you're upset like this. I don't believe it," Magnus scoffed.

I scooted off my bed and moved to straighten my shoes in my closet. "Well, believe it. I was doing something he didn't like and he yelled at me and he called me stupid and he hates me now and I cried and now I'm starting to again." I swiped at my eyes after my short outburst.

Magnus left his seat and crossed the room to me. He grabbed my face with both his hands and wiped my tears away with his thumbs. "He will get over this. He loves you. He doesn't actually think you're stupid because we all know you're not." Magnus pursed his lips. "I'm sorry that this happened, but I have to ask. What were you doing?"

Right at that moment, Simon burst into the room, panting. "Are you okay? I ran into Isabelle in the dining hall, and she asked where you were. I was like 'I don't know' and she was like 'Is she okay?' and I was like 'Why wouldn't she be?' and then she told me what happened with your brother!" He threw up his hands and was still breathing hard when he finished.

I shook my head at him. "Si, I'm fine. Promise."

Magnus snorted. "Could've fooled me." I sent him a glare. Magnus being Magnus only rolled his eyes at me. I stuck my tongue out at him.

Simon looked wildly between the two of us. "I take it you haven't talked to Jon since your fight." I shook my head. "I'll go-"

"Simon, no. Just leave him be. He's upset, and he has a right to feel that way."

Simon looked incredulous and turned to Magnus for support. Magnus shrugged his shoulders but didn't say anything. Simon opened his mouth to say something and closed it. There was silence for a minute while Simon appeared to have some inner battle with himself. One side must've one because he said, "All you did was kiss Jace! I mean I know he doesn't like him-"

Magnus' eyes slowly widened as he gaped at me. It took a lot to get Magnus to appear shocked, but Simon, or I guess I had done it. "WHAT?!"

"Mag-"

I jumped as Magnus stepped closer to me and whispered hastily, "You kissed that- that ugh." Magnus ran his hands through his hair, messing it up. He seemed distressed, but he turned to me with narrowed eyes, causing me to reevaluate his mood. "Did he force himself on you?"

"No." I thought back to how Jace had just kissed me. I guess that was technically force, but not in the way Magus thought. "In a way, yes, but it was more like he kissed me without permission. I let it happen and continued it. It was consensual overall." I shrugged.

Magnus snapped his fingers, and his hair went back into perfect green spikes. "If he takes one step out of line, if he hurts you even the smallest bit, I will destroy his perfect hair and make him unable to have children." Magnus paused. "Don't tell him I said his hair was perfect either."

That made Simon laugh, and I was glad that any tension that had been in the room had dissipated quickly.

* * *

The next day, I went down for breakfast and ran into my brother at the entrance to the cafeteria. Jon recognized it was me before quickly hurrying out of the cafeteria and down the hall while studying the floor meticulously. I sighed already exhausted with the fight between us. I peered around to see if there was anyone I could sit with even though I honestly felt like sitting alone.

I instantly brightened when I saw Sebastian sitting on his own. As I approached, Sebastian looked up. "Hey." The tone in his voice was ambivalent. He had been distant ever since he hadn't shown for our training meeting.

"Hey! Can I sit with you?"

He didn't say anything for a minute. "I suppose." I cocked my head, wondering what was wrong.

"If you want to sit alone, I can-"

"It's fine." Sebastian went back to pushing around some of the fruit on his plate.

I went over to the buffet-styled breakfast laid out. I decided nothing really looked appetizing, so I quickly grabbed the bagel and returned to Sebastian. We sat in silence for a few minutes before I couldn't take it anymore.

"How are you? It's been a while since we talked."

"Fine." Sebastian glanced at me then looked at the door. "Your boyfriend's here."

"What?" I followed his gaze to find that Jace had just walked in with his siblings. "Oh. He's not my boyfriend."

Sebastian looked at me but said nothing.

Ignoring the strange comment, I inquired, "Is everything okay? You seem a little… I don't know… off?" I watched him carefully as he took a deep breath.

"I'm fine."

"That's your favorite word, isn't it?" I laughed, but Sebastian wasn't amused. "What?"

Sebastian took a deep breath. "Do you remember that time I had asked you to train?" I nodded. "I know you probably think I didn't show, but I did. I heard you and Jace talking, Clary."

I racked my brain for what Jace and I had been talking about. What _had_ we been talking about? It had been so long ago.

It hit me like a ton of bricks.

"I had said I wasn't interested in dating you."

That actually elicited a small smile out of Sebastian. "Yeah, but that didn't bother me." I looked at him questioningly. "Yes, I think you're beautiful and would like to take you on a date, but I can respect that you don't view me that way. What bothered me was that you seemed interested in _Jace_ that way. He's a total jerk. I haven't done a damn thing to the guy, and every time I pass him in the hallway, he glares at me. I just don't want to watch you get hurt."

"Why didn't you tell me this before?"

Sebastian shrugged. "It's your life, Clary."

I reached over and grabbed his hand. "Yes, it is. And I want to be your friend. The more interactions I have with Jace, the more I seem to become isolated. I'm not okay with that."

Sebastian squeezed my hand back. "I'm more than willing to be your friend, but don't ask me to hang out with him, too."

I laughed. "Promise."


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

Clary's POV

As I left the dining hall, I had a smile on my face, content with my rekindled friendship with Sebastian. We had decided to grab dinner later in the week. As I debated if we should just eat here or try to go out somewhere, I became aware of a presence behind me. It was such a dominating presence, I knew exactly who stood behind me even before he opened his big mouth.

"Already moved on, huh? To someone who your brother would like more, perhaps?" I thought I detected an ounce of hurt in his voice, but knowing Jace, it could just be a ruse.

I turned to face his defiantly before reaching up to grab the sides of his face. I stood on my tiptoes, so I could reach his lips with mine. Our lips caressed each other momentarily before I pulled away. "Do I treat him that way? Um, no."

I turned away as my cheeks flamed. I didn't know what possessed me to just up and kiss Jace that way, especially since I promised myself to take a step back and figure out some things, but every time I saw him, I just wanted to be closer to him.

I heard his footsteps as he ran to catch up. "Does this mean we're okay?"

I paused in my walking to look at him. "Why wouldn't we be?" Jace hadn't actually done anything wrong.

"After yesterday, I came to find you last night. I heard you tell Simon that you felt as if I was isolating you from your friends and family. I don't want to do that to you. I don't _mean_ to. I genuinely like you, Clary, which if you knew me before, you'd realize how amazing it is that I say that."

I laughed. "I did see you sneak out of that girl's room during the first week, remember?"

Jace smiled, but there was still worry behind it. I sighed.

"It's my problem, not yours. For some reason, I greatly enjoy your company." I turned to face him and stopped. "And I really like kissing you." I reached up and kissed him briefly.

Jace reached for my hand. "My room?" He looked at me hopefully, making me laugh. "Please?"

"You've never even taken me out on a date."

"I can do that. Not right now, but later? Maybe Thursday?"

"I-" Jace's eyebrows furrowed as I hesitated. "I promised Sebastian we would grab dinner on Thursday."

I waited for a negative reaction, but all I got was: "Playing the field? Alright, you do that, and when you realize I'm the one for you, I'll be here for you, only you."

Jace's words surprised me. We had kissed what? A total of 3 times? He was already willing to commit? Jace the man-whore? I couldn't believe it.

"I'm not dating Sebastian, Jace." I waited as he looked at me.

"Then why hang out with him?"

"A girl can't be friends with another guy? I should write off Simon, too?"

Jace shuffled his feet. "Not with Sebastian. I don't trust him."

"Not you, too. Why?"

"Just a feeling I have." I analyzed his face as he said this. Instead of petty jealousy which I expected, I only found genuine concern. He was honestly worried about Sebastian as a person.

"He's my friend. If I promise to be careful-"

Jace interrupted me. "I can't make you do anything, Clary, and you don't owe me anything. However," He took a deep breath, "I would prefer you don't associate with him."

"Jace-"

"Okay, but if anything happens, call me or come find me right away, even if it's the middle of the night." I nodded in agreement, and Jace wrapped his arm around me. "Now, let's go up to my room. Alec said he had somewhere to be this afternoon. I suspect it has something to do with a certain warlock who thinks he's pretty."

I laughed loudly as we headed up towards Jace's room.

* * *

We barely made it through Jace's door before Jace attached his lips to mine. His hands slid down my back and over my butt. My arms wrapped around his neck, and I pulled myself closer to him. Our bodies were flush against each other, but I wanted to be closer. I moaned when his tongue caressed mine, and the noise must've given Jace encouragement. He squeezed my butt as he lifted me up higher and guided my legs to wrap around his torso. Jace's hands slid up my back again, this time taking my shirt with it. He pulled away from kissing me to lift the shirt over my head. Our lips found each other again as Jace sat on his bed, and I moved to a kneeling position as it was easier to sit on him.

I felt a tug on the band of my bra, causing me to pull away abruptly. "What are you doing?"

Jace's expression turned from one of lust to confusion. "Kissing you?"

"No, you're trying to undress me."

Jace chuckled. "That usually comes with the kissing."

"It didn't yesterday." I stood up and bent over to pick up my shirt.

As I pulled it over my head, Jace leaned back on his bed, resting on his elbows. "We didn't get that far before we were interrupted. I'm not sure what the problem is here."

I puffed out a breath in frustration. "Jace, I-" I turned and made eye contact with him. "I've never had sex before."

Jace laughed. "Yeah, I know."

"This is a big deal for me. I've never done this with a boy before."

Jace sat up. "Wait. You've never even fooled around?"

"No."

Jace's eyes widened. He rubbed his thighs for a moment before standing up and pacing towards his closet and back. After a few moments of silence, Jace said, "I don't know what to do here, Clary."

"You could just ask before proceeding. As you noticed, I was okay with my shirt coming off, but not my bra. Not yet."

Scoffing, Jace mumbled, "Yeah let me just ruin the moment by gathering your permission."

I rolled my eyes. "It won't ruin the mood, trust me. Just try it okay?" I walked over and stopped him from pacing before hugging him around his torso.

I could hear the rumble of his voice in his chest as he said, "I'm not a very patient man, Clary. I'm not sure how long I can wait to be intimate." One of his hands reached up to play with my hair.

"I don't like giving ultimatums, but, unfortunately, this is the way it is. If you push me before I'm ready, you'll lose me." I pulled away to look at his face. There was a frown there now.

"Guess I'll have to wait then."

I smiled at Jace then, and Jace gave me a small smile in return. I could tell Jace was torn between his urges to keep me and to sleep with me still.

"Do you want to train?"

Jace nodded enthusiastically. "If you're going to require I'm celibate until you're ready, you best get used to training a lot with me."

I laughed as Jace started to put on his gear.


End file.
